10 Best Manufacturing Stocks To Buy According to Analysts

8. The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors  in Q1 2024: 54

Average Analyst Share Price Upside: 17%

Average Analyst Share Price Target: $218.77

The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) is an American manufacturing giant known primarily for its civilian aircraft and a defense division that makes aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, and other products. Since commercial airplanes are The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA)’s bread and butter, any trouble in this area means that the stock will suffer. This has been the case in 2024 as well, as the firm has struggled to deal with the fallout of an in flight accident on an aircraft that led to an emergency landing. Since aircraft manufacturing is a highly sensitive industry because of safety concerns, the reputational hits that The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) has taken have led to a 27% drop in deliveries in June, which follows a 50% drop in May. Since aircraft manufacturing is essentially a duopoly, and the products are used for decades, this means that The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) can lose out on a lot of long term customers.

On this front, here’s what The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA)’s management had to say during the Q1 2024 earnings call:

“The 2024 free cash flow outlook I shared last month is still expected to be a generation in the low single-digit billions. Cash flow should improve as we move through the year and be back-end loaded, driven by BCA deliveries and receipt timing, including an expected Lot 11 award on the Tanker. Second quarter free cash flow is expected to improve sequentially but be another sizable use of cash. We’re committed to managing the balance sheet in a prudent manner with two main objectives: one, prioritize the investment-grade rating; and two, allow the factory and supply chain to stabilize for a stronger trajectory as we exit this year.

As we operate at these lower production rates, we’re actively monitoring our liquidity levels and believe we have significant market access and are continuously monitoring and evaluating opportunities should we decide to supplement our liquidity position. Longer-term, we remain confident in our ability to achieve $10 billion of free cash flow. However, given our continued focus on safety, quality, stability, we continue to expect that this goal will take us longer than we originally planned and later in the 2025, 2026 window primarily tied to the 737 and 787 production delivery ramps of 50 per month and 10 per month, respectively.”