Press Release: S&Pgr Upgrades Hartford Insurance -2

The stocks in this article are all trading near their 52-week highs. This strength often reflects positive developments such as new product launches, favorable industry trends, or improved financial performance.

However, not all companies with momentum are long-term winners, and many investors have lost money by following short-term trends. Keeping that in mind, here is one stock with lasting competitive advantages and two that may correct.

Two Stocks to Sell:

Fastenal (FAST)

One-Month Return: +7.9%

Founded in 1967, Fastenal provides industrial and construction supplies, including fasteners, tools, safety products, and many other product categories to businesses globally.

Why Do We Think Twice About FAST?

• 3.6% annual revenue growth over the last two years was slower than its industrials peers
• Earnings growth over the last two years fell short of the peer group average as its EPS only increased by 2.8% annually
• 4.8 percentage point decline in its free cash flow margin over the last five years reflects the company’s increased investments to defend its market position

Fastenal is trading at $48.69 per share, or 45.3x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with FAST, check out our full research report (it’s free).

Hartford (HIG)

One-Month Return: +9.7%

Recognizable by its iconic stag logo that dates back to 1810, The Hartford provides property and casualty insurance, group benefits, and investment products to individuals and businesses across the United States.

Why Does HIG Fall Short?

• Outsized scale creates growth headwinds as its 6.2% annualized net premiums earned increases over the last five years underperformed other financial institutions
• Forecasted revenue decline of 17.5% for the upcoming 12 months implies demand will fall off a cliff
• Scale is a double-edged sword because it limits the firm’s capital growth potential compared to its smaller competitors, as reflected in its below-average annual book value per share increases of 5.4% for the last five years

Hartford’s stock price of $131.34 implies a valuation ratio of 2.1x forward P/B. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why HIG doesn’t pass our bar.

One Stock to Buy:

Palantir (PLTR)

One-Month Return: +22.2%

Started by Peter Thiel after seeing US defence agencies struggle in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks, Palantir (NYSE:PLTR) offers software as a service platform that helps government agencies and large enterprises use data to make better decisions.

Why Will PLTR Outperform?

• Billings growth has averaged 44.2% over the last year, indicating a healthy pipeline of new contracts that should drive future revenue increases
• Well-designed software integrates seamlessly with other workflows, enabling swift payback periods on marketing expenses and customer growth at scale
• Robust free cash flow margin of 55% gives it many options for capital deployment

At $181.54 per share, Palantir trades at 94.9x forward price-to-sales. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our full 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-small-cap company Exlservice (+354% five-year return).

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