Low-volatility stocks may offer stability, but that often comes at the cost of slower growth and the upside potential of more dynamic companies.
Choosing the wrong investments can cause you to fall behind, which is why we started StockStory - to separate the winners from the losers. Keeping that in mind, here are three low-volatility stocks to steer clear of and a few better alternatives.
Agilysys (AGYS)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 0.50
With a tech stack that powers everything from check-in to checkout at some of the world's top hospitality venues, Agilysys (NASDAQ: AGYS) develops and provides cloud-based and on-premise software solutions for hotels, resorts, casinos, and restaurants to manage operations and enhance guest experiences.
Why Does AGYS Give Us Pause?
- 15.5% annual revenue growth over the last five years was slower than its software peers
- Gross margin of 61.8% is below its competitors, leaving less money to invest in areas like marketing and R&D
- Operating margin improvement of 2.2 percentage points over the last year demonstrates its ability to scale efficiently
At $126.04 per share, Agilysys trades at 10.6x forward price-to-sales. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than AGYS.
Crane NXT (CXT)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 0.91
Born from a corporate transformation completed in 2023, Crane NXT (NYSE: CXT) provides specialized technology solutions for payment processing, banknote security, and authentication systems for financial institutions and businesses.
Why Do We Steer Clear of CXT?
- Organic revenue growth fell short of our benchmarks over the past two years and implies it may need to improve its products, pricing, or go-to-market strategy
- Performance over the past two years shows its incremental sales were much less profitable, as its earnings per share fell by 6.3% annually
- 11.5 percentage point decline in its free cash flow margin over the last four years reflects the company’s increased investments to defend its market position
Crane NXT is trading at $58.09 per share, or 13x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including CXT in your portfolio.
WaFd Bank (WAFD)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 0.65
Founded in 1917 and rebranded from Washington Federal in 2023, WaFd (NASDAQ: WAFD) is a bank holding company that provides lending, deposit services, and insurance through its Washington Federal Bank subsidiary across eight western states.
Why Do We Think WAFD Will Underperform?
- 6.9% annual net interest income growth over the last five years was slower than its banking peers
- Net interest margin dropped by 76 basis points (100 basis points = 1 percentage point) over the last two years, implying the firm’s loan book profitability fell as competitors entered the market
- Sales were less profitable over the last two years as its earnings per share fell by 14.8% annually, worse than its revenue declines
WaFd Bank’s stock price of $32.15 implies a valuation ratio of 0.9x forward P/B. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why WAFD doesn’t pass our bar.
Stocks We Like More
Your portfolio can’t afford to be based on yesterday’s story. The risk in a handful of heavily crowded stocks is rising daily.
The names generating the next wave of massive growth are right here in our Top 5 Growth Stocks for this month. 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 Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today
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