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  • Professor Andrea M. Armani, University of Southern California
  • Ruti Ben-Shlomi, Ph.D., LightSolver
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1 Unpopular Stock That Deserves a Second Chance and 2 We Ignore

By: StockStory

FIVE Cover Image

Wall Street has issued downbeat forecasts for the stocks in this article. These predictions are rare - financial institutions typically hesitate to say bad things about a company because it can jeopardize their other revenue-generating business lines like M&A advisory.

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 is one stock poised to prove Wall Street wrong and two where the outlook is warranted.

Two Stocks to Sell:

Five Below (FIVE)

Consensus Price Target: $157.11 (2.4% implied return)

Often facilitating a treasure hunt shopping experience, Five Below (NASDAQ: FIVE) is an American discount retailer that sells a variety of products from mobile phone cases to candy to sports equipment for largely $5 or less.

Why Does FIVE Give Us Pause?

  1. Poor same-store sales performance over the past two years indicates it’s having trouble bringing new shoppers into its brick-and-mortar locations
  2. Modest revenue base of $4.23 billion gives it less fixed cost leverage and fewer distribution channels than larger companies
  3. Low returns on capital reflect management’s struggle to allocate funds effectively, and its shrinking returns suggest its past profit sources are losing steam

Five Below is trading at $153.40 per share, or 33.1x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including FIVE in your portfolio.

Lowe's (LOW)

Consensus Price Target: $280.55 (4.3% implied return)

Founded in North Carolina as Lowe's North Wilkesboro Hardware, the company is a home improvement retailer that sells everything from paint to tools to building materials.

Why Does LOW Worry Us?

  1. Large revenue base makes it harder to increase sales quickly, and its annual revenue growth of 2.6% over the last six years was below our standards for the consumer retail sector
  2. Store closures and disappointing same-store sales suggest demand is sluggish and it’s rightsizing its operations
  3. Lagging same-store sales over the past two years suggest it might have to change its pricing and marketing strategy to stimulate demand

Lowe’s stock price of $269 implies a valuation ratio of 21x forward P/E. If you’re considering LOW for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

One Stock to Buy:

EMCOR (EME)

Consensus Price Target: $681.67 (6.8% implied return)

Through its network of over 70 subsidiaries, EMCOR (NYSE: EME) provides electrical, mechanical, and building construction and services

Why Do We Love EME?

  1. Market share has increased this cycle as its 15.6% annual revenue growth over the last two years was exceptional
  2. Share repurchases over the last two years enabled its annual earnings per share growth of 54.8% to outpace its revenue gains
  3. Rising returns on capital show management is finding more attractive investment opportunities

At $638 per share, EMCOR trades at 25.8x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? See for yourself in our in-depth research report, it’s free.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

When Trump unveiled his aggressive tariff plan in April 2025, markets tanked as investors feared a full-blown trade war. But those who panicked and sold missed the subsequent rebound that’s already erased most losses.

Don’t let fear keep you from great opportunities and take a look at 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

StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.

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