Oracle is set to report its slowest annual earnings growth in six years next week, but analysts remain bullish on the stock and expect it to revive growth in the new financial year.
5 Best Hardware Stocks to Buy Now
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 53
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) is a Deerfield-based hardware firm that primarily makes machinery and engines for heavy industries. Some of the products that it develops and sells are asphalt pavers, compactors, cold planers, pipelayers, road reclaimers, and telehandlers, among others. Caterpillar also has a clothing and workwear boots line that it markets under its name. The firm also serves the defense sectors in the US, Britain, and the Middle East. It provides the United Kingdom military with diesel engines and combat engineering tanks.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) was founded in 1925 and comes in at fifth place on our list of 10 best hardware stocks to buy now. On April 1, analysts at financial services firm Evercore rated Caterpillar stock as Outperform with a price target of $240. The share price of the machinery maker jumped more than 1.3% after the ratings update.
10 Best Hardware Stocks to Buy Now
The world economy was mostly shuttered throughout 2020 as governments around the world scrambled to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the side effects of the restrictions placed on business activity was that companies making tools and hardware required for other businesses to function took a huge hit in sales as economic activity ground to a complete halt. For example, one of the biggest hardware firms in the US, Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE: SWK), reported only a 1% increase in sales during 2020.
However, slow growth in the second half of the year on the back of increased optimism resulting from the development of a coronavirus vaccine helped Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE: SWK) bounce back and the firm reported a 19% year-on-year increase in sales in the fourth quarter of 2020. The total earnings for the firm during the period also increased by roughly 50% compared to the same time last year. The firm expects steady