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.
Whatever the consensus opinion may be, our team at StockStory cuts through the noise by conducting independent analysis to determine a company’s long-term prospects. Keeping that in mind, here is one stock where Wall Street’s pessimism is creating a buying opportunity and two facing legitimate challenges.
Two Stocks to Sell:
Hilltop Holdings (HTH)
Consensus Price Target: $42 (8.9% 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 Should You Sell HTH?
- Annual net interest income growth of 1.4% over the last five years was below our standards for the banking sector
- Projected 30.3 percentage point efficiency ratio increase over the next year signals it will struggle to adjust its fixed costs as sales fall
- Sales were less profitable over the last five years as its earnings per share fell by 13.8% annually, worse than its revenue declines
At $38.56 per share, Hilltop Holdings trades at 1x forward P/B. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why HTH doesn’t pass our bar.
BOK Financial (BOKF)
Consensus Price Target: $152 (9.9% implied return)
Tracing its roots back to 1910 when Oklahoma was still a young state, BOK Financial (NASDAQ: BOKF) is a regional bank holding company that provides commercial banking, consumer banking, and wealth management services across eight states in the central and southwestern US.
Why Does BOKF Give Us Pause?
- Sales trends were unexciting over the last five years as its 3.4% annual growth was below the typical banking company
- Muted 4% annual net interest income growth over the last five years shows its demand lagged behind its banking peers
- Earnings per share lagged its peers over the last five years as they only grew by 2.8% annually
BOK Financial is trading at $138.29 per share, or 1.3x forward P/B. If you’re considering BOKF for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.
One Stock to Watch:
Gartner (IT)
Consensus Price Target: $185.15 (-5.9% implied return)
With over 2,500 research experts guiding organizations through complex technology landscapes, Gartner (NYSE: IT) provides research, advisory services, and conferences that help executives make better decisions about technology and other business priorities.
Why Are We Positive on IT?
- Solid 8.1% annual revenue growth over the last five years indicates its offerings solve complex business issues
- Robust free cash flow margin of 19.8% gives it many options for capital deployment
- Rising returns on capital show management is finding more attractive investment opportunities
Gartner’s stock price of $196.80 implies a valuation ratio of 12.4x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
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