Industrial giant Honeywell International (NYSE: HON) started the year with fairly bright expectations. It's likely going to end up paring those projections back as the impact of COVID-19 containment efforts pushes countries around the world into recession. That's not a great backdrop for investing in Honeywell, let alone any industrial name.
However, this stock is rarely cheap. Down around 30% so far in 2020, is Honeywell stock a buy at these levels?
Honeywell is an industrial company, which basically means that it is a cyclical business. When the economy is running briskly the company will usually perform well. In recessionary periods, on the other hand, revenue and earnings are likely to sag alone with the economy. During the deep 2007-to-2009 recession, for example, Honeywell's shares cratered a painful 60%. With that as a backdrop, the roughly 30% decline so far this year seems relatively modest.
Source Fool.com