Continuing my series on the best of the best industrial companies, today, I want to look at Stanley Black & Decker (SWK), another large diversified industrial with a market cap of $21B that is much more consumer facing than some of the other industrials I have written about. I've been researching some of the top-performing industrials from a qualitative perspective and comparing them on a few key metrics. Industrials, on the whole, are not cheap today, although some have been correcting back to closer to fair value. I have been building a watchlist to help keep a clear head during sell-offs and just buy as much of the companies I have on my list as possible. When the companies are performing well is the best time to get an idea of which companies are the leaders and get the list prepared so that when the industrial cycle bottoms out again, I will know what I want regardless of any news or extraneous opinions.

SWK's impressive operating history definitely puts it into the conversation with the most well-run industrials. The company celebrated its 175th year of operations this year. Additionally, the company has paid 141 consecutive years of dividend payments, with 50 years of consecutive dividend increases. There are very few companies that can match that kind of history, which shows a long-term mindset and conservative management over the years.

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