Wall Street’s bearish price targets for the stocks in this article signal serious concerns. Such forecasts are uncommon in an industry where maintaining cordial corporate relationships often trumps delivering the hard truth.

Accurately determining a company’s long-term prospects isn’t easy, especially when sentiment is weak. That’s where StockStory comes in - to help you find attractive investment candidates backed by unbiased research. Keeping that in mind, here are three stocks where the skepticism is well-placed and some better opportunities to consider.

Marriott (MAR)

Consensus Price Target: $273.71 (-1.7% implied return)

Founded by J. Willard Marriott in 1927, Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR) is a global hospitality company with a portfolio of over 7,000 properties and 30 brands, spanning 130+ countries and territories.

Why Does MAR Fall Short?

1. Revenue per room has disappointed over the past two years due to weaker trends in its daily rates and occupancy levels
2. Estimated sales growth of 4% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its two-year trend
3. Lacking free cash flow generation means it has few chances to reinvest for growth, repurchase shares, or distribute capital

At $278.39 per share, Marriott trades at 27x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with MAR, check out our full research report (it’s free).

United Parcel Service (UPS)

Consensus Price Target: $114.01 (13% implied return)

Trademarking its recognizable UPS Brown color, UPS (NYSE: UPS) offers package delivery, supply chain management, and freight forwarding services.

Why Is UPS Risky?

1. Declining unit sales over the past two years show it’s struggled to increase its sales volumes and had to rely on price increases
2. Earnings per share decreased by more than its revenue over the last two years, showing each sale was less profitable
3. Shrinking returns on capital suggest that increasing competition is eating into the company’s profitability

United Parcel Service is trading at $100.92 per share, or 13.2x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including UPS in your portfolio.

Hilltop Holdings (HTH)

Consensus Price Target: $33.33 (6.6% implied return)

Transformed from a residential communities business to a financial services powerhouse in 2007, Hilltop Holdings (NYSE: HTH) is a Texas-based financial holding company that provides banking, broker-dealer, and mortgage origination services.

Why Do We Avoid HTH?

1. Net interest income stagnated over the last four years and signal the need for new growth strategies
2. Efficiency ratio is expected to worsen by 32 percentage points over the next year
3. Performance over the past five years shows each sale was less profitable as its earnings per share dropped by 9% annually, worse than its revenue

Hilltop Holdings’s stock price of $31.26 implies a valuation ratio of 0.9x forward P/B. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why HTH doesn’t pass our bar.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

The market surged in 2024 and reached record highs after Donald Trump’s presidential victory in November, but questions about new economic policies are adding much uncertainty for 2025.

While the crowd speculates what might happen next, we’re homing in on the companies that can succeed regardless of the political or macroeconomic environment. Put yourself in the driver’s seat and build a durable portfolio by checking out our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. 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-small-cap company Exlservice (+354% 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