CAT - Caterpillar Inc.
| Previous Close | 115.25 |
| Open | 116.25 |
| Bid | 116.71 x 800 |
| Ask | 116.69 x 800 |
| Day's Range | 115.92 - 117.87 |
| 52 Week Range | 112.06 - 159.37 |
| Volume | 3,550,843 |
| Avg. Volume | 4,263,141 |
| Market Cap | 65.502B |
| Beta (3Y Monthly) | 1.45 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 10.83 |
| EPS (TTM) | 10.75 |
| Earnings Date | Oct 23, 2019 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | 4.12 (3.57%) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | 2019-07-19 |
| 1y Target Est | 143.61 |
Motley FoolIs Caterpillar a Value Stock to Buy Now?
Analyzing its prospects from a long-term perspective.
- InvestorPlace
Dow Jones Today: A Fantastic Friday
Despite more speculation that recession clouds are gathering, stocks cobbled together impressive gains to close another wild week. I mentioned earlier this week that some of the more important European economies, including Germany, are on the cusp of economic contractions and that are likely to spur the European Central Bank (ECB) into action.That was one catalyst for today's rally: talk that the ECB won't be sitting on the sidelines much longer and will attempt something with monetary policy aimed at perking up the region's sagging economies.Here in the U.S., it still seems like a stretch to say that a recession is imminent, but the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index reading out today could be cause for concern for fans of President Donald Trump. That survey indicates independent and republican voters are growing concerned about the economy and could be apt to rein in spending. That data point was revealed just a day after the president spoke glowingly about the economy and the strength of the American consumer.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips * 10 Cheap Dividend Stocks to Load Up On Even with all the recession chatter, the Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.67% while the S&P 500 climbed 1.44%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week with a gain of 1.20%. Fun fact, at least for day traders or those that like volatility: the S&P 500 has had intraday moves of at least 1% for nearly three straight trading weeks. Tariff TalkThese days, it's almost possible to discuss stocks, particularly many of the Dow members, with talking about tariffs. Plenty of stocks are more tariff-sensitive than others, and JPMorgan was talking about a few of those names today.Remember that while President Trump backed off some of the tariffs on Chinese goods set to go into effect on Sept. 1, he did not back off all of those levies. And the ones not going into effect next month were not eliminated. Those were merely delayed until mid-December.As for companies likely to be affected by the Sept.1 tariffs, those names include Dow components Dow (NYSE:DOW) and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT). Somehow, Dow, the chemicals maker, was the second-best performer in the Dow today while industrial machinery maker Caterpillar was a solid gainer as well, adding 0.97%.Regarding Dow members that could be pinched by the December tariffs, assuming those penalties go into effect, JPMorgan includes Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Nike (NYSE:NKE) on that list. However, both stocks closed higher today.The Home Depot (NYSE:HD) has been receiving elevated trade-related mentions, according to JPMorgan. Still, Home Depot is a heavily domestic company and the shares added 0.92% today ahead of next Tuesday's earnings report. Bad Bank Stocks on the DowEach of the Dow's financial services components, including JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), the largest U.S. bank, closed higher today. I mention this because, yes, banks are being drilled by declining net interest margin expectations at the hands of lower interest rates, but also because recent price action in the sector confirms investors can be confounded by analyst chatter.Just last week, a Wells Fargo analyst said valuations on bank stocks are attractive, but today the same analyst said "there is no way to sugar coat the negative impact of lower interest rates" on banks' net interest margins and per share earnings.As I pointed out a couple of times during financial services earnings season, the net interest margin issued was raised on a slew of bank earnings calls and at this point, should be baked into these stocks. Dow Jones Bottom LineWith all the aforementioned recession chatter swirling, the good news is that the Federal Reserve will not take that talk lightly and it is becoming increasingly likely that there could be another two rate cuts before the end of this year.While that may be good news, the risk is that with rates already so low by historical standards, the effectiveness of more rate reductions may not be up to investors' current expectations. Time will tell on that front, but the near-term path of least resistance would be for trade wars to cease.Todd Shriber does not own any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 10 Cheap Dividend Stocks to Load Up On * The 10 Biggest Losers from Q2 Earnings * 5 Dependable Dividend Stocks to Buy The post Dow Jones Today: A Fantastic Friday appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- InvestorPlace
Investors Should Buy General Electric Stock on Its Latest Decline
General Electric (NYSE:GE) stock price plunged more than 11% yesterday after forensic accountant Harry Markopolos issued a report accusing the conglomerate of massive accounting fraud and predicted that it could go bankrupt soon. GE stock price is climbing 6.5% today but remains about 20% below its July 24 levels.Source: JPstock / Shutterstock.com Known for reporting Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme to the federal government years before Madoff was caught, Markopolos' has earned some credibility with The Street.Yet, for multiple reasons, including Markopolos' history and recent conduct, I'm very skeptical about his conclusions. For these reasons, I recommend that risk-tolerant investors buy General Electric stock on weakness.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Markopolos Can Make Money if the Street Believes His StoryAccording to CNBC, Markopolos said that a mid-sized, U.S.-based hedge fund had agreed to give him "a decent percentage of profits" that it would earn by betting on the decline of GE stock. * 10 Cheap Dividend Stocks to Load Up On Let's say that the hedge fund bet $100 million against GE stock, and that it, using put options, made $50 million on the trade. Let's say that Markopolos' percentage was 20%. He would then of course earn $10 million on the deal. That's a pretty high sum for putting together a report and appearing on a few TV shows.And, if Markopolos' report had not been negative enough to push GE stock price down, it appears he would earn nothing on the deal. So, I'd say calling him pretty biased when it comes to GE stock would be a huge understatement.My confidence in the accountant isn't increased by his refusal to name the hedge fund that's paying him or the exact percentage of their profit he's getting. And in my opinion his statement that his report was "self-funded" could make some people mistakenly believe that he has no profit motive in this case. As somebody who scathingly criticized GE for a lack of transparency, Markopolos' own lack of transparency is puzzling and disappointing. Markopolos' Past Prophecies Haven't Come TrueMarkopolos, of course, was spot on about Madoff, but his warnings about insurance companies haven't been nearly as prophetic. As CNBC noted, his case centers around GE's long-term care insurance unit.Interestingly, in an interview published by Business Insider in November 2016, Markopolos alleged that all sorts of fraud was rampant across the insurance sector."I have some large insurance fraud cases that I'm going to make public in 2017. And they're going to be in the tens of billions of dollars each. … Basically the insurance industry is where the banking industry was in 2007," he told Business Insider. But over two years later, I can't find any references to insurance fraud exposed by Markopolos. Does anybody else hear a wolf? America Doesn't Crack Down Hard on Illegal Conduct by CompaniesIn his report, Markopolos compared GE to two of the very few large American companies that collapsed due to illegal conduct: Enron and WorldCom.But the reality is that the vast majority of large firms that violate the law do survive, and many thrive. For example, American International Group (NYSE:AIG), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) were charged with committing fraud during the financial crisis. Toshiba (OTCMKTS:TOSBF) had its own accounting scandal in 2015. They all managed to survive and thrive since then. More recently, Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) has admitted to various fraudulent actions. Multiple hospital-chain owners have admitted to Medicare fraud. None of them have gone out of business, either. So even if GE did commit fraud or break laws, the chances of it disappearing are pretty low. Most of GE's Problems Involve a SubsidiaryAs CNBC pointed out, most of Markopolos' allegations of insolvency and lack of liquidity relate to GE's long-term insurance business. He identifies Employers Reassurance Corporation as the source of much of the debt he says GE owes.But ERAC is a subsidiary of GE, rather than part of the company itself. Interestingly, earlier this year, another GE subsidiary, sub-prime lender WMC Mortgage, went bankrupt. Although I'm not a legal or financial expert, I do think it's fair to wonder why GE cannot get rid of most of its debt stemming from ERAC by simply having the unit declare bankruptcy. Apparently, bankruptcies by insurers are not unheard of or illegal. Why Would Culp Join a Corrupt Company?General Electric CEO Larry Culp is in an altogether different situation than the CEOs of Enron and WorldCom were. In the latter two cases, the long-time heads of the companies were involved in fraud for years.Culp, by contrast, just joined GE at the end of last year. At that point, Markopolos alleges that GE had already started their fraudulent practices. By all accounts, Culp was tremendously respected for the turnaround he engineered while he was CEO of Danaher (NYSE:DHR).If Markopolos' accusations are true, Culp either did not examine GE's financial situation prior to taking the job, didn't understand its financial situation or knew that it was about to crash but, for some reason, didn't care about wrecking his sterling managerial reputation. None of those scenarios seems very likely. General Electric Stock's Fundamentals Are StrengtheningDespite the bears' insistence that GE stock is doomed and its fundamentals are collapsing, there are concrete signs that the company's fundamentals are improving or are poised to improve.The oracle of the GE stock bears, JPMorgan analyst Stephen Tusa, reported that GE's second quarter was an operational miss and that the company's fundamentals had worsened.But, as I pointed out in a previous column, the gas power segment of GE's Power unit jumped 27% in the first half of the year, and the company's overall backlog jumped 11% year-over-year. Culp reported that GE Power would benefit from positive trends going forward, including strong demand for natural gas in Asia. Moreover, despite temporary problems, the company's Aviation unit received a record $55 billion of orders at the Paris Air Show in June.Meanwhile, Greentech reported earlier this month that U.S. wind energy development accelerated in the second quarter, which should boost GE's renewable energy unit. Additionally, New York and New Jersey are going all-in on offshore wind, which also bodes well for GE.Finally, Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) reported that the orders of its power business surged 17% year-over-year. Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD), which sells parts to GE, said that its gas turbine business is improving. And Barclays analysts reported that U.S. power turbine orders jumped more than 12% year-over-year.Based on all of those numbers and fundamental catalysts, I really can't see how Tusa can state with confidence that GE's fundamentals are worse. I also am not very confident at all about Markopolos' charges, so I would recommend buying GE stock on weakness.As of this writing, Larry Ramer was long GE. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 10 Cheap Dividend Stocks to Load Up On * The 10 Biggest Losers from Q2 Earnings * 5 Dependable Dividend Stocks to Buy The post Investors Should Buy General Electric Stock on Its Latest Decline appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- Bloomberg
One Small City Beat the Texas Heat That Sent Power Price Soaring
(Bloomberg) -- On Tuesday afternoon, as virtually all of Texas was facing the prospect of rolling blackouts and electricity prices skyrocketed to unprecedented levels, a small city on the southeastern edge of the state was so awash in power that it was basically giving the stuff away for free.Welcome to Victoria. Population: 63,000. This city, in the heart of the Lone Star State’s “Golden Crescent” region, isn’t known for much beyond plastics factories and chemical plants. A business roster of the local Chamber of Commerce boasts some big names including Formosa Plastics Corp. and Caterpillar Inc. It’s these industrial roots that may have saved it from one of the biggest power price spikes Texas has ever seen.Victoria’s giant industrial complexes are capable of making their own power with on-site generators. They’re handy resources when the state’s entire grid is running out of reserves and electricity is selling for $9,000 a megawatt-hour, more than anywhere else in America. While the rest of Texas was facing a shortage, these plants may have ramped up their own power generation, creating a supply glut in the city because of a lack of space on transmission lines.“Power plants around Victoria went full bore,” said Adam Jordan, an analyst at Genscape. The limits of the grid turned the area into a tiny island where -- as wild as it sounds -- electricity was selling for as low as negative $250 a megawatt-hour.Power grid operators call this phenomenon “congestion.” Indeed, when asked about extremely low prices there on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas said it “related to transmission congestion around the Victoria area.” At one point, a color-coded map of electricity prices on Ercot’s website was covered in bright red -- the shade for power trading at thousands of dollars a megawatt-hour. Victoria stood out as the lone cool-blue spot where electricity was below zero.The region may have been trying to cash in on soaring electricity prices by making their own power and feeding it onto the grid. But the ramp-up threatened to overload transmission lines that export power to big cities like Houston. The negative power prices signal to generators that they need to back off. “Ercot wanted power everywhere but there,” Jordan said.“These plants that self-serve are always looking to capture high prices when they can,” Josh Danial, a BloombergNEF analyst, said in an interview. The swings in power generation from these so-called private-use networks, he said, have actually sparked some controversy in the market as traders and power-plant operators can’t track their capacity, making it challenging to forecast prices.Victoria may have also turned into a power oasis on Tuesday as the region’s industrial giants idled some operations, said Adam Sinn, president of Aspire Commodities LLC. Big customers like them get paid to cut demand when electricity use is soaring, through programs known as demand response.“Either the plants shut off in demand response,” Sinn said, “or they shut off and started using their on-site private generation for the grid.”Caterpillar and Formosa didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Martin in New York at cmartin11@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Doan at ldoan6@bloomberg.net, Pratish NarayananFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Barrons.com
Sell Caterpillar Stock Because the World Is Slowing Down, Analyst Says
Stephens launched coverage of Caterpillar with an Underweight rating, the equivalent of a sell, citing worries about global growth.
- Zacks
Zacks Earnings Trends Highlights: Macy???s, Amazon, McDonalds, Caterpillar, CSX Corp., Borg Warner
Zacks Earnings Trends Highlights: Macy???s, Amazon, McDonalds, Caterpillar, CSX Corp., Borg Warner
- Zacks
Deere & Co. (DE) Earnings Preview: Trade War and Tractors
Deere & Company (DE) closed up a slight 0.08% Tuesday; shares were likely positively affected after the Trump administration pushed back a new wave of tariffs from September to December 15, raising hopes of a trade deal.
- Zacks
Top Research Reports: Amazon, Caterpillar, Vertex & More
Top Research Reports: Amazon, Caterpillar, Vertex & More
- Investing.com
Stocks - Wall Street Tumbles After Brief Yield Curve Inversion
Investing.com – Wall Street slumped on Wednesday after the yield curve on the 2-year and 10-year Treasury note briefly inverted for the first time since 2007, increasing fears of a recession.
- Benzinga
Malaysia's Sime Darby Buys Gough Of New Zealand
Kuala Lumpur-headquartered trading conglomerate Sime Darby (BMB: 4197) of Malaysia has conditionally acquired the privately held automotive and construction machinery dealer Gough Group of Christchurch, New Zealand. Commenting on the sale, Gough Group Chairman Keith Sutton said: "we are confident that, under Sime Darby's ownership, the outlook for the business will be strengthened, service to customers enhanced, and opportunities for our employees improved. Sime Darby noted in a statement that Gough owns the Caterpillar dealership in New Zealand along with interests in the transport and materials handling sectors in both Australia and New Zealand.
- Zacks
Caterpillar July Retail Sales Up 4%, Resource Industries Peaks
Despite Caterpillar's (CAT) overall retail sales growth hitting a low point in July, Resource Industries segment holds promise.
- Zacks
Why Caterpillar (CAT) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now
Dividends are one of the best benefits to being a shareholder, but finding a great dividend stock is no easy task. Does Caterpillar (CAT) have what it takes? Let's find out.
- Motley Fool
The 10 Biggest Railroad Stocks
Here are the largest stocks you can buy in the railroad sector.
- Zacks
Trade War Updates, CSCO Preview & Time to Buy RH Stock | Free Lunch
Did the global economic picture just turn more positive on U.S.-China trade war news? This episode of Free Lunch also takes a look at what to expect from Cisco (CSCO) and Macy's (M) earnings, and why RH is a Zacks Rank 1 (Strong Buy) stock.
- Barrons.com
Caterpillar and GE See Power Markets Improving. That’s Good News for the Stocks.
Caterpillar released retail sales trends today and the power generation business is improving. General Electric and Woodward are seeing similar trends. That’s good news for the stocks—GE in particular—because power industry weakness has been a sore spot for investors.
- InvestorPlace
CSX Stock Is a Good Play — But Is It the Best One?
There's not a lot of mystery at the moment when it comes to railroad operator CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX). CSX news of late has been disappointing, thanks to a soft second-quarter earnings report. That report has pulled the CSX stock price down more than 10% -- and trade worries have kept the pressure on.Source: Shutterstock CSX unquestionably is a solid company -- and, at the moment, the premier railroad operator in North America. That alone creates a strong "buy the dip" argument with the CSX stock price now down 17% from its highs.But there are two key questions here. The first is whether even a 17% pullback is enough given factors outside of CSX's control. The second is whether the "buy the dip" case for CSX stock applies just as well to other, cheaper cyclical plays.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips * 7 Safe Dividend Stocks for Investors to Buy Right Now From here, the answers to those questions are somewhat of a split decision. I'd wager the CSX stock price will start climbing again. But I'd bet, too, that other stocks -- maybe even some in the railroad industry -- will do better. CSX News Doesn't Change the Long-Term CaseShort-term weakness aside, CSX still has been a star performer. The CSX stock price has almost doubled since the 2016 United States presidential election. Even after the selloff, it has seen the biggest gains of the seven major railroad stocks that comprise the Dow Jones Railroads Index. The 132% increase dwarfs the 104% gains at second-place Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC).The company has been excellent at controlling expenses. Its 2018 operating ratio -- operating expenses divided by revenues -- was the lowest in that index, at 60.3%. The two Canadian operators, Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) and Canadian Pacific Railway (NYSE:CP), come in next -- at a full point higher.To top it off, after the disappointing CSX news, the stock now is the cheapest of the group. The forward price-to-earnings ratio sits at 14.5x, slightly lower than NSC. It's possible that multiple will rise -- some analysts may still lower 2020 earnings estimates -- but at the least, CSX is valued in line with the peers it's currently outperforming.Given all these positive factors, the selloff looks like an opportunity. And it's not as if the Q2 earnings report was truly that bad. The company did cut full-year revenue guidance, but it left itself room to outperform if second-half demand strengthens. Operating income still increased 2% year-over-year. This wasn't a disaster, but some investors seemed to treat it as such. The Concerns Going ForwardThe performance of CSX stock so far raises one key and seemingly counterintuitive concern. There simply may not be much room left for improvement.Again, CSX's operating ratio is a full point better than that of every other major railroad play. It's three points better than that of Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU), and a full five ahead of Norfolk Southern. Is CSX that much better than the rest of its sector? Or is there more room for rivals to catch up -- and drive earnings growth in the process?That concern becomes more important amid the current cyclical fears. Operating expenses for railroads, like those of any business, can be leveraged by revenue growth. But CSX isn't seeing revenue growth coming in the second half of the year. The obvious worry is that declines may continue if the macroeconomic environment in the U.S. weakens. CSX stock already has a headwind from coal shipments, which may not come back. Its CEO, on the Q2 conference call, called the macro picture "puzzling."If the economy turns, revenue growth may head south for more than just a couple of quarters. And it may be CSX whose growth and share price lags, as rivals find more room to cut costs in the new environment. Is CSX Stock the Best Play?Those concerns are real. But at 14x-15x forward earnings, they look priced in. At this point, the declines do seem like they've gone too far.But, again, the other important question is whether CSX stock is the best play. And that's a tougher case to make. Cyclical stocks across the board generally have struggled since the beginning of last year, even though many have rallied somewhat so far this year. And many are downright cheap.Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), for instance, trades at 10x forward earnings. Many other stocks in industries like construction, boating and automobiles look even cheaper. The risks in those sectors are higher -- but so are the rewards. If an investor has the stomach to make a contrarian bet against the current macro worries, there are options that go beyond CSX and beyond railroads.So from here, the case for CSX stock looks solid but also a bit narrow. It's for investors who are willing to take on cyclical risk -- but only a little. Long-term, the selloff is an opportunity. But the same factors that drove the selloff could open up intriguing opportunities elsewhere.As of this writing, Vince Martin did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 10 Real Estate Investments to Ride Out the Current Storm * 7 Marijuana Penny Stocks to Consider for Those Who Can Handle Risk * 7 Safe Dividend Stocks for Investors to Buy Right Now The post CSX Stock Is a Good Play -- But Is It the Best One? appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- Investopedia
Tariff Delays Could Brighten Caterpillar's Outlook
Dow component Caterpillar has bounced strongly in reaction to tariff delays after trading within six points of the 2018 low.
- TheStreet.com
Caterpillar Bulldozes Ahead as Tariff Delay, Rising Sales Give Shares a Boost
An increase in Caterpillar's global sales is powered by a 9% jump in heavy equipment sales in North America and a 20% rise in Latin America, which offset a decline in China and in the Asia/Pacific region as a whole.
- Simply Wall St.
What Kind Of Shareholders Own Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)?
If you want to know who really controls Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its...
- Investing.com
Stocks - Dow Sinks as Trade Jitters, Growth Worries Slam Markets Again
Investing.com – Stocks fell sharply Monday afternoon and money poured into bonds again as worries about global trade battles grew.
- GuruFocus.com
Wall Street Recommends Buying 3 High Earnings-Yield Stocks
Caterpillar tops the list Continue reading...
- Investing.com
Stocks - Markets Battered Again and Rates Sink as Trade Jitters Persist
Investing.com - Stocks plunged Monday and bonds jumped thanks to a miserable combination of trade worries, the worsening civil strife in Hong Kong and fears about global growth generally.
- Zacks
CSX, Caterpillar, JPMorgan, Macy's, Wal-Mart, Deere & Co., Nvidia and Applied Materials are part of Zacks Earnings Preview
CSX, Caterpillar, JPMorgan, Macy???s, Wal-Mart, Deere & Co., Nvidia and Applied Materials are part of Zacks Earnings Preview
- Zacks
5 Utility Stocks You Should Buy Right Now
Utility stocks should make for great choices since concerns surrounding the Fed's policy path and intensifying trade tensions are raising market volatility.
