Why Honeywell Stock Ticked Higher Today

Storied industrial conglomerate Honeywell (NASDAQ: HON) had a fine Wednesday on the stock exchange. Bolstered by a recommendation upgrade from a prominent U.S. bank, the company's shares rose to a more than 2% gain during the Hump Day trading session. That figure was notably higher than the 0.4% improvement posted by the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC).

A big bank says buy

Well before market open that day, no less an institution than Bank of America Securities became significantly more bullish on Honeywell stock. It now considers the shares to be worthy of a buy, where previously it flagged them as neutral. The bank also made a significant raise to its price target, to $250 per share from the preceding $210. At the new level, Bank of America is anticipating more than 16% upside to the current stock price.

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This wasn't exactly a surprising development, as it came several days after Honeywell notched convincing beats on both revenue and profitability for its first quarter of this year. According to reports, the bank considered the quarter to be a robust one for the company, demonstrating that its days of underperforming against analyst and investor expectations might be behind it.

Additionally, Bank of America waxed bullish on what it considers to be the company's defensive mix of businesses; this combination should do well in an environment of macroeconomic uncertainty. Finally, recent divestments have left Honeywell a leaner and more effective company, in the bank's estimation.

Hoping for continued good momentum

So at the end of the day, according to that analysis, Honeywell is something of a turnaround story. I feel investors should be a bit wary of such dynamics, especially with large and sprawling businesses like this one. That said, it was almost unarguably a strong quarter for the company, and if it can continue the positive momentum, its stock should do very well indeed.

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Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bank of America. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.