Mid-cap stocks often strike the right balance between having proven business models and market opportunities that can support $100 billion corporations. However, they face intense competition from scaled industry giants and can be disrupted by new innovative players vying for a slice of the pie.
Luckily for you, our mission at StockStory is to help you make money and avoid losses by sorting the winners from the losers. Keeping that in mind, here is one mid-cap stock with huge upside potential and two that could be down big.
Two Mid-Cap Stocks to Sell:
Genuine Parts (GPC)
Market Cap: $16.52 billion
Largely targeting the professional customer, Genuine Parts (NYSE: GPC) sells auto and industrial parts such as batteries, belts, bearings, and machine fluids.
Why Are We Hesitant About GPC?
- Annual sales growth of 4.2% over the last six years lagged behind its consumer retail peers as its large revenue base made it difficult to generate incremental demand
- Lagging same-store sales over the past two years suggest it might have to change its pricing and marketing strategy to stimulate demand
- Free cash flow margin shrank by 3 percentage points over the last year, suggesting the company is consuming more capital to stay competitive
Genuine Parts’s stock price of $119.06 implies a valuation ratio of 14.5x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including GPC in your portfolio.
Owens Corning (OC)
Market Cap: $11.67 billion
Credited with the discovery of fiberglass, Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) supplies building and construction materials to the United States and international markets.
Why Does OC Fall Short?
- Organic sales performance over the past two years indicates the company may need to make strategic adjustments or rely on M&A to catalyze faster growth
- Forecasted revenue decline of 6.7% for the upcoming 12 months implies demand will fall off a cliff
- Capital intensity has ramped up over the last five years as its free cash flow margin decreased by 4.8 percentage points
At $136.19 per share, Owens Corning trades at 9.2x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with OC, check out our full research report (it’s free).
One Mid-Cap Stock to Watch:
Cincinnati Financial (CINF)
Market Cap: $22.78 billion
Founded in 1950 by independent insurance agents seeking stable market options for their clients, Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ: CINF) provides property casualty insurance, life insurance, and related financial services through independent agencies across 46 states.
Why Could CINF Be a Winner?
- Market share has increased this cycle as its 10.9% annual net premiums earned growth over the last two years was exceptional
- Annual book value per share growth of 11.9% over the last five years was superb and indicates its capital strength increased during this cycle
- Market-beating return on equity illustrates that management has a knack for investing in profitable ventures
Cincinnati Financial is trading at $145.76 per share, or 1.6x forward P/B. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
Stocks We Like Even More
Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs.
While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like our Top 6 Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today
