Is Honeywell International (HON) Fairly Priced After Its Strong Year To Date Rally?
Honeywell International Inc. HON | 0.00 |
- Wondering if Honeywell International at around US$237.86 is offering fair value, or if you might be paying a premium for the stock right now.
- The stock has returned 4.4% over the last 7 days, 11.9% over 30 days, 21.4% year to date, 13.8% over 1 year, 35.4% over 3 years and 21.7% over 5 years, which naturally raises questions about how much of this performance is already reflected in the current price.
- Recent coverage has focused on Honeywell International's role as a large US industrial and technology company, including ongoing attention on its exposure to automation, aerospace and building technologies. This context helps frame how investors are thinking about the stock's risk profile and potential as conditions shift across these end markets.
- On Simply Wall St's valuation checks, Honeywell International currently holds a 3/6 valuation score. This suggests a mixed picture that calls for a closer look at different valuation methods, and later in the article you will see an approach that can help you connect those numbers to the broader investment story.
Approach 1: Honeywell International Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis
A Discounted Cash Flow model takes estimates of future cash flows, then discounts them back to today to arrive at an intrinsic value per share. It is essentially asking what those future dollars are worth in today's terms.
For Honeywell International, the latest twelve month Free Cash Flow is about $4.2b. Using a 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity model, analyst forecasts are used for the next several years, then Simply Wall St extrapolates further cash flows, reaching a projected Free Cash Flow of $9.4b in 2035. All of these projected cash flows are discounted to reflect the time value of money and risk.
On this basis, the DCF model estimates a fair value of about $253.75 per share, compared with the current share price of around $237.86. That implies the stock trades at roughly a 6.3% discount to this intrinsic value, which sits well within a reasonable margin of error for this kind of model.
Result: ABOUT RIGHT
Honeywell International is fairly valued according to our Discounted Cash Flow (DCF), but this can change at a moment's notice. Track the value in your watchlist or portfolio and be alerted on when to act.
Approach 2: Honeywell International Price vs Earnings
For a profitable company, the P/E ratio is a useful way to see how much you are paying for each dollar of current earnings. It links the stock price directly to earnings, which is often the main driver of long term returns.
What counts as a “normal” or “fair” P/E depends on how the market views a company’s growth prospects and risk. Higher expected growth or lower perceived risk can support a higher P/E, while slower growth or higher risk usually points to a lower P/E.
Honeywell International is trading on a P/E of about 37.98x, compared with an Industrials sector average of around 12.92x and a peer group average of roughly 46.99x. Simply Wall St’s “Fair Ratio” for Honeywell International is 38.50x, which is a proprietary estimate of what the P/E might be given its earnings growth profile, profit margins, industry, market cap and risk characteristics.
This Fair Ratio can be more informative than a simple peer or industry comparison, because it adjusts for company specific factors rather than assuming all stocks should trade at similar multiples. With the current P/E sitting slightly below the Fair Ratio, Honeywell International looks ABOUT RIGHT on this measure.
Result: ABOUT RIGHT
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Upgrade Your Decision Making: Choose your Honeywell International Narrative
Earlier it was mentioned that there is an even better way to understand valuation, so meet Narratives, a simple way for you to attach a clear story about Honeywell International to the numbers you are using for fair value, revenue, earnings and margin estimates, then see how that story translates into a forecast and a fair value you can compare with the current price.
On Simply Wall St, Narratives sit inside the Community page and let you follow or create views that line up with how you see Honeywell International. This might be closer to a higher fair value around US$320.19 with revenue growing 6.98% a year and margins at 18.27%, or a more cautious fair value near US$200.84 with revenue growing 4.74% and margins at 16.18%. The platform automatically refreshes those stories when new earnings, guidance or news is added, so you can quickly see how your preferred fair value stacks up against the latest share price and decide whether that gap is wide enough to act on or small enough to wait.
For Honeywell International however we'll make it really easy for you with previews of two leading Honeywell International Narratives:
These sit on opposite sides of the fair value debate, so use them as bookends when you think about whether the current US$237.86 share price fits your own expectations on growth, margins and risk.
Fair value: US$320.19 per share
Current price vs this fair value: around 25.7% below that estimate
Revenue growth used in this story: 16.65%
- Views Honeywell Automation “RemainCo” as a pure automation and energy technology business with around US$19.4b of contracted backlog across building, process and industrial automation.
- Frames the company as a key beneficiary of AI infrastructure, LNG, sustainable aviation fuel and building efficiency spending, with Honeywell Forge playing a central role in recurring software and services revenue.
- Argues that the current valuation still reflects a conglomerate profile and that separation, backlog conversion and software mix could support a higher multiple over time.
Fair value: about US$200.84 per share
Current price vs this fair value: around 18.4% above that estimate
Revenue growth used in this story: 4.74%
- Emphasises tariff exposure, changing trade patterns and potential end market softness as constraints on revenue and margins across automation and aerospace businesses.
- Highlights execution risk and sizeable one off costs linked to separating into three companies, along with portfolio reshaping and possible revenue impact from exiting certain activities such as Personal Protective Equipment.
- Uses a lower assumed P/E multiple and more cautious growth and margin path to reach a fair value that sits below the current share price. Also notes that analysts overall still cluster around a relatively tight range of targets.
If you want to see how other investors are framing the story between these two poles, and how their fair values compare with today’s price, See what the community is saying about Honeywell International.
Do you think there's more to the story for Honeywell International? Head over to our Community to see what others are saying!
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
