According to this article at CNBC, industrial manufacturer Honeywell (NYSE: HON) doesn't see the current recession (or slowdown, if you believe recession is too harsh a term) hurting its plans all that much. Shareholders of the company should certainly rejoice at management's assertion that the company will still be able to deliver somewhere between $3.70 and $3.80 in earnings per share for 2008.

Reaffirmation is always a good thing in a market as tempestuous as this one has been. The question is, when you see a news item such as this, what actionable inference can you take from it? In other words, should you be looking at Honeywell? Investors should indeed perform some due diligence on the company, because based on the current price of the stock, Honeywell isn't overly pricey. Plus, the stock is really close to a 52-week high. I'm not the biggest fan of buying at 52-week highs, but for those who believe in trading via chart science, a stock near the top end of a range is oftentimes attractive since, in theory, a majority of the weak holders will be out of it by that point.

But being patient for a pullback is usually a virtue with any strong stock. And here's something else to consider. Competitor United Technologies (NYSE: UTX), which has a similar dividend yield to Honeywell, is further away from its 52-week high, but well off its 52-week low. Does that make UTX more attractive? Possibly. And Goodrich Corp. (NYSE: GR), while not having as high a dividend yield, is also not at a 52-week high. So while the reaffirmation bodes well for Honeywell, definitely kick the company's financial tires a bit before making any decision, and look around to similar companies that you might think are better values.

Disclosure: I don't own shares in any company mentioned here; positions can change at any time.