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BofA Securities Upgrades Honeywell to Neutral on Strong Orders, Raises Price Target to $265
Summary
BofA Securities has upgraded Honeywell Technologies to Neutral from Underperform and significantly increased its price target, citing the industrial conglomerate's strong second-quarter results and accelerating order growth.
BofA Securities upgraded its rating on Honeywell Technologies (HON) to Neutral from Underperform and raised its price target to $265 from $205, according to a note published Tuesday. The revision reflects improved confidence in the company's second-half growth outlook following a strong quarterly performance.
Stronger Execution and Raised Guidance
The analyst action follows Honeywell's second-quarter results, which surpassed expectations and prompted the company to raise its full-year 2026 guidance. BofA stated that the strong report eased its previous concerns regarding aerospace-related execution and inconsistent operational performance.
Honeywell reported adjusted second-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $1.95 on revenue of $5.18 billion, beating BofA's estimate of $1.74. The company subsequently lifted its full-year 2026 outlook for:
- Organic growth: 3% to 4%
- Segment margins: 20.1% to 20.5%
- Adjusted EPS: $8.05 to $8.35
AdAccelerating Orders Boost Confidence
BofA Securities highlighted accelerating orders as a key positive from the quarter. Total orders grew 16% organically to $5.7 billion, driving the company's book-to-bill ratio above 1.1x and increasing its backlog by 9%. This strength was reportedly broad-based across its Building Automation, Industrial Automation, and Process Automation & Technology segments.
The brokerage noted that this strong order intake improves visibility into the expected acceleration in growth for the second half of 2026 and into 2027. In response, BofA raised its own 2026 adjusted EPS estimate for Honeywell to $8.25 from $8.05, citing expectations for stronger execution and faster backlog conversion.
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