1 Unpopular Stock That Deserves a Second Chance and 2 Facing Headwinds

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.

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

Two Industrials Stocks to Sell:

Saia (SAIA)

Consensus Price Target: $394.45 (2.5% implied return)

Pivoting its business model after realizing there was more success in delivering produce than selling it, Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) is a provider of freight transportation solutions.

Why Are We Hesitant About SAIA?

1. Disappointing tons shipped over the past two years indicate demand is soft and that the company may need to revise its strategy
2. Weak free cash flow margin of -0.4% has deteriorated further over the last five years as its investments increased
3. Shrinking returns on capital suggest that increasing competition is eating into the company’s profitability

At $384.88 per share, Saia trades at 35.7x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with SAIA, check out our full research report (it’s free).

CSX (CSX)

Consensus Price Target: $39.85 (-2.1% implied return)

Established as part of the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries merger, CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) is a transportation company specializing in freight rail services.

Why Do We Pass on CSX?

1. Flat unit sales over the past two years imply it may need to invest in improvements to get back on track
2. Performance over the past two years shows each sale was less profitable as its earnings per share dropped by 6.5% annually, worse than its revenue
3. Free cash flow margin dropped by 18 percentage points over the last five years, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up

CSX is trading at $40.69 per share, or 22.1x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including CSX in your portfolio.

One Industrials Stock to Buy:

Woodward (WWD)

Consensus Price Target: $417.75 (10.2% implied return)

Initially designing controls for water wheels in the early 1900s, Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) designs, services, and manufactures energy control products and optimization solutions.

Why Are We Bullish on WWD?

1. Annual revenue growth of 10.9% over the last two years was superb and indicates its market share increased during this cycle
2. Operating margin improvement of 4.3 percentage points over the last five years demonstrates its ability to scale efficiently
3. Earnings growth has trumped its peers over the last two years as its EPS has compounded at 29.4% annually

Woodward’s stock price of $379.20 implies a valuation ratio of 43.1x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

Stocks We Like Even More

The market’s up big this year - but there’s a catch. Just 4 stocks account for half the S&P 500’s entire gain. That kind of concentration makes investors nervous, and for good reason. While everyone piles into the same crowded names, smart investors are hunting quality where no one’s looking - and paying a fraction of the price. Check out the high-quality names we’ve flagged in our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.