Al Root

Honeywell is at the end of a long-gestating corporate transformation, which makes it a good time to get back into the stock.

Friday, Wolfe Research analyst Nigel Coe upgraded Honeywell shares to Buy from Hold and set a new $293 price target. He downgraded shares in October 2024, seeing "an extended period of turbulence." Now, investors are free to "move around the cabin," with the coming separation of the aerospace and automation businesses unlocking value.

Shares were up 0.3% in premarket trading at $241.51, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively.

Honeywell began considering a breakup in late 2024 and formally announced plans to split into three companies in early 2025. It spun off Solstice Advanced Materials in October, leaving the separation of aerospace and automation, which should be wrapped up in the second half of 2026.

Sometimes, spins can put stocks into deal limbo, with investors waiting for things to happen. Honeywell stock hadn't done much in 2025, but momentum has recently picked up. Coming into Friday trading, shares were up 23% this year.

Coe thinks there is more room to run with the aerospace separation imminent.

How Honeywell's businesses perform will determine how they trade, but the aerospace and automation businesses tend to get solid price-to-earnings ratios. Aerospace and defense contractor RTX trades for about 28 times earnings expected over the coming 12 months. Rockwell Automation trades for about 32 times. Honeywell shares currently fetch about 22 times earnings.

Overall, 56% of analysts rate Honeywell's stock as Buy. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 55%, according to FactSet. The average analyst price target for Honeywell stock is about $252.

Coe's $293 price target is the second highest on the Street, according to FactSet, trailing only Melius Research's Scott Davis, who has a $296 price target.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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February 27, 2026 07:43 ET (12:43 GMT)

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