Every investor would love to stumble upon the perfect stock. But will you ever really find a stock that provides everything you could possibly want?
One thing's for sure: You'll never discover truly great investments unless you actively look for them. Let's discuss the ideal qualities of a perfect stock, then decide if Honeywell
The quest for perfection
Stocks that look great based on one factor may prove horrible elsewhere, making due diligence a crucial part of your investing research. The best stocks excel in many different areas, including these important factors:
- Growth. Expanding businesses show healthy revenue growth. While past growth is no guarantee that revenue will keep rising, it's certainly a better sign than a stagnant top line.
- Margins. Higher sales mean nothing if a company can't produce profits from them. Strong margins ensure that company can turn revenue into profit.
- Balance sheet. At debt-laden companies, banks and bondholders compete with shareholders for management's attention. Companies with strong balance sheets don't have to worry about the distraction of debt.
- Money-making opportunities. Return on equity helps measure how well a company is finding opportunities to turn its resources into profitable business endeavors.
- Valuation. You can't afford to pay too much for even the best companies. By using normalized figures, you can see how a stock's simple earnings multiple fits into a longer-term context.
- Dividends. For tangible proof of profits, a check to shareholders every three months can't be beat. Companies with solid dividends and strong commitments to increasing payouts treat shareholders well.
With those factors in mind, let's take a closer look at Honeywell.
|
Factor |
What We Want to See |
Actual |
Pass or Fail? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growth | 5-Year Annual Revenue Growth > 15% | 4% | Fail |
| 1-Year Revenue Growth > 12% | 14.2% | Pass | |
| Margins | Gross Margin > 35% | 24.2% | Fail |
| Net Margin > 15% | 7% | Fail | |
| Balance Sheet | Debt to Equity < 50% | 63.4% | Fail |
| Current Ratio > 1.3 | 1.44 | Pass | |
| Opportunities | Return on Equity > 15% | 23.3% | Pass |
| Valuation | Normalized P/E < 20 | 17.80 | Pass |
| Dividends | Current Yield > 2% | 2.8% | Pass |
| 5-Year Dividend Growth > 10% | 7.9% | Fail | |
| Total Score | 5 out of 10 |
Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's. Total score = number of passes.
With five points, Honeywell is about halfway to perfection. The conglomerate has businesses with huge scope across the industrial landscape, but thin margins and slow growth have held it back from the top echelon of companies.
Honeywell focuses primarily on the aerospace industry, producing engines, power systems, and other products for commercial and military aircraft. As such, its success depends on the health of the federal government and the commercial aviation sector.
Neither of those areas is healthy right now. On the commercial front, although big orders from AMR
With a healthy and growing dividend, Honeywell is appealing to a wide range of investors. But the company needs to build on its recent growth spurt if it expects to overcome its challenges to get closer to perfection in the years to come.
Keep searching
No stock is a sure thing, but some stocks are a lot closer to perfect than others. By looking for the perfect stock, you'll go a long way toward improving your investing prowess and learning how to separate out the best investments from the rest.
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Finding the perfect stock is only one piece of a successful investment strategy. Get the big picture by taking a look at our "13 Steps to Investing Foolishly."
