Consider This Before Taking a Position in Caterpillar (CAT)

By Kim Brooks • Monday, December 18 16:39 • Permanent Link

More and more people are talking about Caterpillar over the last few weeks. Is it worth buying the Heavy Machinery stock at a price of $285.71? Only time will tell. The information below will give you a basic idea of what this investment may entail:

Caterpillar has moved 23.0% over the last year, and the S&P 500 logged a change of 23.6%
CAT has an average analyst rating of hold and is 8.71% away from its mean target price of $262.82 per share
Its trailing earnings per share (EPS) is $17.63
Caterpillar has a trailing 12 month Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio of 16.2 while the S&P 500 average is 15.97
Its forward earnings per share (EPS) is $20.59 and its forward P/E ratio is 13.9
The company has a Price to Book (P/B) ratio of 7.1 in contrast to the S&P 500's average ratio of 2.95
Caterpillar is part of the Industrials sector, which has an average P/E ratio of 22.19 and an average P/B of 4.06
CAT has reported YOY quarterly earnings growth of 40.8% and gross profit margins of 0.3%
The company has a free cash flow of $5.14 Billion, which refers to the total sum of all its inflows and outflows of cash over the last quarter
Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in the United States and internationally. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track and multi-terrain, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools. The company's Resource Industries segment provides electric rope and hydraulic shovels, draglines, rotary drills, hard rock vehicles, tractors, mining trucks, longwall miners, wheel loaders, off-highway and articulated trucks, wheel tractor scrapers and dozers, fleet management products, landfill and soil compactors, machinery components, autonomous ready vehicles and solutions, work tools, and safety services and mining performance solutions, as well as related parts and services. Its Energy & Transportation segment offers reciprocating engine powered generator sets; reciprocating engines, drivetrain, and integrated systems and solutions; turbines, centrifugal gas compressors, and related services; and diesel-electric locomotives and components, and other rail-related products. The company's Financial Products segment provides operating and finance leases, installment sale contracts, repair/rebuild financing services, working capital loans, and wholesale financing; and insurance and risk management products and services. Its All Other operating segment offers filters and fluids, undercarriage, ground engaging tools, fluid transfer products, precision seals, and rubber sealing and connecting components; parts distribution; integrated logistics solutions and distribution services; brand management and marketing strategy services; and digital investments services. Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

The above analysis is intended for educational purposes only and was performed on the basis of publicly available data. It is not to be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Any buy, sell, or other recommendations mentioned in the article are direct quotations of consensus recommendations from the analysts covering the stock, and do not represent the opinions of Market Inference or its writers. Past performance, accounting data, and inferences about market position and corporate valuation are not reliable indicators of future price movements. Market Inference does not provide financial advice. Investors should conduct their own review and analysis of any company of interest before making an investment decision.