1 Unpopular Stock That Deserves Some Love and 2 We Turn Down

When Wall Street turns bearish on a stock, it’s worth paying attention. These calls stand out because analysts rarely issue grim ratings on companies for fear their firms will lose out in other business lines such as 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. Keeping that in mind, here is one stock where Wall Street’s pessimism is creating a buying opportunity and two where the outlook is warranted.

Two Stocks to Sell:

Flowserve (FLS)

Consensus Price Target: $93.80 (4.1% implied return)

Manufacturing the largest pump ever built for nuclear power generation, Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) manufactures and sells flow control equipment for various industries.

Why Are We Cautious About FLS?

1. New orders were hard to come by as its average backlog growth of 6% over the past two years underwhelmed
2. Demand will likely be soft over the next 12 months as Wall Street’s estimates imply tepid growth of 5.9%
3. Low free cash flow margin of 5.4% for the last five years gives it little breathing room, constraining its ability to self-fund growth or return capital to shareholders

Flowserve is trading at $90.10 per share, or 21.1x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with FLS, check out our full research report (it’s free).

First Busey (BUSE)

Consensus Price Target: $28 (5% implied return)

Tracing its roots back to 1868 during America's post-Civil War reconstruction era, First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) is a bank holding company that provides commercial and retail banking, wealth management, and payment technology solutions across Illinois, Missouri, Florida, and Indiana.

Why Does BUSE Fall Short?

1. Weak unit economics are reflected in its net interest margin of 3.3%, one of the worst among bank companies
2. Annual earnings per share growth of 4.9% underperformed its revenue over the last five years, showing its incremental sales were less profitable
3. Projected tangible book value per share decline of 3.2% for the next 12 months points to tough credit quality challenges ahead

First Busey’s stock price of $26.66 implies a valuation ratio of 1x forward P/B. If you’re considering BUSE for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

One Stock to Watch:

First BanCorp (FBP)

Consensus Price Target: $24.64 (9.9% implied return)

Tracing its roots back to 1948 in San Juan, First BanCorp (NYSE:FBP) is a bank holding company that provides commercial banking, consumer financing, mortgage services, and insurance products across Puerto Rico, the U.S. mainland, and the Caribbean.

Why Do We Like FBP?

1. Differentiated product suite results in a Strong performance of its loan book results in a High-yielding loan book and low cost of funds result in a best-in-class net interest margin of 4.6%
2. Share repurchases have amplified shareholder returns as its annual earnings per share growth of 37.3% exceeded its revenue gains over the last five years
3. Balance sheet strength has increased this cycle as its 20.1% annual tangible book value per share growth over the last two years was exceptional

At $22.43 per share, First BanCorp trades at 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

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 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. 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 Exlservice (+354% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.