Earnings season was not perfect for our industrial-focused portfolio companies, but we’re feeling pretty good about their prospects for the rest of the year. Shares of two of the five names finished Friday at all-time highs, and we belive the others show promise for patient investors. 1. Eaton Electrical power management company Eaton posted a fourth-quarter beat on earnings and revenue. Management also delivered a strong outlook for 2024 as part of the Feb. 1 release. This sets Eaton apart from its industrial peers whose outlooks for the year were on the conservative side. Eaton also continues to build a strong backlog. Shares of Eaton hit a record during their post-earnings rally and haven’t looked back. They finished at another all-time high on Friday of $277.52. ETN YTD mountain Eaton (ETC) year-to-date performance On earnings day, we hiked our Club price target on Eaton to $290 per share from $255. Eaton stands to be among the biggest winners from the reindustrialization and electrification trend throughout the country. We think this wave will serve as a catalyst, boosting the stock in the long run. There is little to nitpick about Eaton right now, but we do hope for a pullback so that we can add to our position. We got into Eaton back in November at $226.79 per share. We were able to buy some more two weeks later at $225.26. However, we felt compelled to add more and violated our cost basis with a December buy. But good thing we did, the stock has gained nearly 18% since then. 2. Linde Linde on Feb. 6 reported double-digit earnings growth and stellar guidance. The industrial gas and engineering company delivered records for operating margin, earnings, and return on capital for all of 2023. Linde shares jumped 3.7% on earnings day and went on to finish Friday at another all-time high. LIN YTD mountain Linde (LIN) year-to-date performance It was an all-around strong quarter for Linde and we think the momentum will continue. The firm’s exposure to clean…
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