Honeywell & Pinnacle Expand Connected Aircraft Solutions

Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON) recently announced the expansion of its GoDirect connected services to the ground, which is one of the last unconnected aerospace frontiers. This latest move will take effect through a collaboration with the global telematics company, Pinnacle, and enable both the companies to connect an airport's ramp service to one single managed solution. Also, it will offer real-time insights into vehicle activity at the airport, resulting in greater fuel efficiency, better on-time performance and lower maintenance costs.

Notably, leverage of Pinnacle’s telematics hardware on ground vehicles will allow transmitting data that feeds into advanced software, thus making actionable data easily available for airlines as well as ground handlers. The collaboration will offer real-time insights into vehicle use & maintenance requirements and precise locations of all ramp operations thereby enhancing efficiency of ground operations. Moreover, this will allow airlines and ground handlers to use predictive maintenance for ground support equipment and observe planes’ reduced fuel costs owing to quicker turnaround times on the ground.

Existing Business Scenario

Honeywell is well-positioned to gain from long-term expansion in markets like aerospace, facility automation and automotive turbochargers on the back of its strong market share and product line-up. The company also continues to invest in innovative technologies that will help it maintain its leadership position. At the same time, as emerging markets seem to be expanding, the demand for the company’s construction, automobiles and airplanes products are expected to increase. Further, the management’s focus on reducing costs and improving productivity is anticipated drive higher profitability in future.

In the past year, this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company’s shares have returned 14.7% against the industry’s average decline of 14.1%. This apart, the company’s balanced mix of long- and short-cycle businesses, along with decent organic growth in new products and expansion in high-growth regions bode well for the long term.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks from the same space are Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE:FSS) , Raven Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:RAVN) and Leucadia National Corporation (NYSE:LUK) . While Federal Signal sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Raven Industries and Leucadia National carry a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Federal Signal outpaced estimates in the preceding four quarters, with an average earnings surprise of 16.5%.

Raven Industries surpassed estimates thrice in the trailing four quarters, with an average positive earnings surprise of 20.2%.

Leucadia National outpaced estimates thrice in the preceding four quarters, with an average earnings surprise of 6.6%.

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