1 Safe-and-Steady Stock to Target This Week and 2 We Ignore

Stability is great, but low-volatility stocks may struggle to deliver market-beating returns over time as they sometimes underperform during bull markets.

Luckily for you, StockStory helps you navigate which companies are truly worth holding. Keeping that in mind, here is one low-volatility stock providing safe-and-steady growth and two stuck in limbo.

Two Stocks to Sell:

Scholastic (SCHL)

Rolling One-Year Beta: 0.75

Creator of the legendary Scholastic Book Fair, Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) is an international company specializing in children's publishing, education, and media services.

Why Do We Avoid SCHL?

1. 4.9% annual revenue growth over the last five years was slower than its consumer discretionary peers
2. Ability to fund investments or reward shareholders with increased buybacks or dividends is restricted by its weak free cash flow margin of 1% for the last two years
3. Eroding returns on capital from an already low base indicate that management’s recent investments are destroying value

Scholastic is trading at $31.30 per share, or 23x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why SCHL doesn’t pass our bar.

LifeStance Health Group (LFST)

Rolling One-Year Beta: 0.66

With over 6,600 licensed mental health professionals treating more than 880,000 patients annually, LifeStance Health (NASDAQ:LFST) provides outpatient mental health services through a network of clinicians offering psychiatric evaluations, psychological testing, and therapy across 33 states.

Why Do We Think Twice About LFST?

1. Subscale operations are evident in its revenue base of $1.37 billion, meaning it has fewer distribution channels than its larger rivals
2. Poor free cash flow margin of -0.5% for the last five years limits its freedom to invest in growth initiatives, execute share buybacks, or pay dividends
3. Negative returns on capital show that some of its growth strategies have backfired

LifeStance Health Group’s stock price of $7.19 implies a valuation ratio of 30.9x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with LFST, check out our full research report (it’s free).

One Stock to Watch:

TJX (TJX)

Rolling One-Year Beta: 0.27

Initially based on a strategy of buying excess inventory from manufacturers or other retailers, TJX (NYSE:TJX) is an off-price retailer that sells brand-name apparel and other goods at prices much lower than department stores.

Why Are We Fans of TJX?

1. Locations open for at least a year are seeing increased demand as same-store sales have averaged 4% growth over the past two years
2. Unparalleled revenue scale of $58.98 billion offsets its poor gross margin and gives it advantageous pricing and terms with suppliers
3. Stellar returns on capital showcase management’s ability to surface highly profitable business ventures, and its returns are growing as it capitalizes on even better market opportunities

At $156.26 per share, TJX trades at 31.3x 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-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.