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How to buy Caterpillar shares | $191.94
Own Caterpillar shares in just a few minutes. Share price changes are updated daily.
Fact checked
Caterpillar Inc (CAT) is a leading farm & heavy construction machinery business based in the US. It opened the day at $190.85 after a previous close of $192.19. During the day the price has varied from a low of $189.31 to a high of $192.82. The latest price was $191.94 (25 minute delay). Caterpillar is listed on the NYSE and employs 102,300 staff. All prices are listed in US Dollars.
How to buy shares in Caterpillar
- Choose a platform. If you're a beginner, our share-dealing table below can help you choose.
- Open your account. You'll need your ID, bank details and national insurance number.
- Confirm your payment details. You'll need to fund your account with a bank transfer, debit card or credit card.
- Search the platform for stock code: CAT in this case.
- Research Caterpillar shares. The platform should provide the latest information available.
- Buy your Caterpillar shares. It's that simple.
What's in this guide?
- Can I buy shares in Caterpillar?
- Has coronavirus impacted Caterpillar shares?
- Caterpillar shares summary
- Compare share dealing platforms
- Is Caterpillar stock a buy or sell?
- Caterpillar performance over time
- Can I short Caterpillar shares?
- Is Caterpillar suitable for ethical investing?
- Are Caterpillar shares over-valued?
- Caterpillar's financials
- How volatile are Caterpillar shares?
- Does Caterpillar pay a dividend?
- Have Caterpillar shares ever split?
- Other common questions
How has Coronavirus impacted Caterpillar's share price?
Since the stock market crash in March caused by coronavirus, Caterpillar's share price has had significant positive movement.
Its last market close was $167.53, which is 18.10% up on its pre-crash value of $137.21 and 91.46% up on the lowest point reached during the March crash when the shares fell as low as $87.5.
If you had bought $1,000 worth of Caterpillar shares at the start of February 2020, those shares would have been worth $708.16 at the bottom of the March crash, and if you held on to them, then as of the last market close they'd be worth $1,291.66.
Caterpillar share price
Use our graph to track the performance of CAT stocks over time.Caterpillar shares at a glance
Information last updated 2021-01-22.
| Open | $190.85 |
|---|---|
| High | $192.82 |
| Low | $189.31 |
| Close | $191.94 |
| Previous close | $192.19 |
| Change | $-0.25 |
| Change % | -0.13% |
| Volume | 1,968,972 |
Information last updated 2021-01-21.
| 52-week range | $85.0843 - $199.1149 |
|---|---|
| 50-day moving average | $183.9861 |
| 200-day moving average | $158.7222 |
| Wall St. target price | $189.35 |
| PE ratio | 32.0372 |
| Dividend yield | $4.12 (2.14%) |
| Earnings per share (TTM) | $6.032 |
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All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
Is it a good time to buy Caterpillar stock?
The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.
Caterpillar price performance over time
Historical closes compared with the last close of $191.94
| 1 week (2021-01-15) | -1.38% |
|---|---|
| 1 month (2020-12-23) | 7.58% |
| 3 months (2020-10-23) | 13.85% |
| 6 months (2020-07-23) | 40.51% |
| 1 year (2020-01-23) | 34.46% |
|---|---|
| 2 years (2019-01-23) | 45.61% |
| 3 years (2018-01-23) | 13.29% |
| 5 years (2016-01-22) | 214.76% |
Is Caterpillar under- or over-valued?
Valuing Caterpillar stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Caterpillar's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.
Caterpillar's P/E ratio
Caterpillar's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 32x. In other words, Caterpillar shares trade at around 32x recent earnings.
That's relatively high compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The high P/E ratio could mean that investors are optimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're over-valued.
Caterpillar's PEG ratio
Caterpillar's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 9.327. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.
The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Caterpillar's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.
Caterpillar's EBITDA
Caterpillar's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is a whopping $7.5 billion (£5.5 billion).
The EBITDA is a measure of a Caterpillar's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.
Caterpillar financials
| Revenue TTM | $43.7 billion |
|---|---|
| Operating margin TTM | 11.7% |
| Gross profit TTM | $14.5 billion |
| Return on assets TTM | 4.13% |
| Return on equity TTM | 22.14% |
| Profit margin | 7.6% |
| Book value | $27.517 |
| Market capitalisation | $105 billion |
TTM: trailing 12 months
How to short and sell Caterpillar shares
- Create a CFD or spread betting account.
- Search for the stock code. E.g. "CAT.US"
- Choose your position size.
- Select "sell" rather than "buy".
- Confirm your position and keep tabs on it. You may wish to set limits on your position.
There are currently 7.2 million Caterpillar shares held short by investors – that's known as Caterpillar's "short interest". This figure is 2.7% up from 7.0 million last month.
There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Caterpillar shares can be evaluated.
Caterpillar's "short interest ratio" (SIR)
Caterpillar's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Caterpillar shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Caterpillar shares traded daily (recently around 2.6 million). Caterpillar's SIR currently stands at 2.74. In other words for every 100,000 Caterpillar shares traded daily on the market, roughly 2740 shares are currently held short.
However Caterpillar's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Caterpillar shares, or, against the total number of tradable Caterpillar shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Caterpillar's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Caterpillar shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0.0132% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Caterpillar shares, roughly 13 shares are currently held short).
Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Caterpillar.
Find out more about how you can short Caterpillar stock.
Caterpillar's environmental, social and governance track record
Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Caterpillar.
When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.
Caterpillar's total ESG risk score
Total ESG risk: 40.85
Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Caterpillar's overall score of 40.85 (as at 01/01/2019) is pretty weak – landing it in it in the 86th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.
ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Caterpillar is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).
Caterpillar's environmental score
Environmental score: 13.72/100
Caterpillar's environmental score of 13.72 puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Caterpillar is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Caterpillar's social score
Social score: 21.74/100
Caterpillar's social score of 21.74 puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Caterpillar is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.
Caterpillar's governance score
Governance score: 8.39/100
Caterpillar's governance score puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Caterpillar is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Caterpillar's controversy score
Controversy score: 4/5
ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. A high-profile company, Caterpillar scored a 4 out of 5 for controversy – the second-lowest score possible, reflecting that Caterpillar has a damaged public profile.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary
Caterpillar Inc was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.
| Total ESG score | 40.85 |
|---|---|
| Total ESG percentile | 86.14 |
| Environmental score | 13.72 |
| Environmental score percentile | 4 |
| Social score | 21.74 |
| Social score percentile | 4 |
| Governance score | 8.39 |
| Governance score percentile | 4 |
| Level of controversy | 4 |
Caterpillar share dividends
Dividend payout ratio: 62.42% of net profits
Recently Caterpillar has paid out, on average, around 62.42% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 2.14% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), Caterpillar shareholders could enjoy a 2.14% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Caterpillar's case, that would currently equate to about $4.12 per share.
Caterpillar's payout ratio would broadly be considered high, and as such this stock could appeal to those looking to generate an income. Bear in mind however that companies should normally also look to re-invest a decent amount of net profits to ensure future growth.
Caterpillar's most recent dividend payout was on 19 February 2021. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 19 January 2021 (the "ex-dividend date").
Have Caterpillar's shares ever split?
Caterpillar's shares were split on a 2:1 basis on 14 July 2005. So if you had owned 1 share the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 2 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Caterpillar shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 50% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Caterpillar shares which in turn could have impacted Caterpillar's share price.
Caterpillar share price volatility
Over the last 12 months, Caterpillar's shares have ranged in value from as little as $85.0843 up to $199.1149. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".
Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Caterpillar's is 0.9611. This would suggest that Caterpillar's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).
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Caterpillar overview
Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, cold planers, feller bunchers, harvesters, motorgraders, pipelayers, road reclaimers, skidders, telehandlers, and utility vehicles; backhoe, knuckleboom, compact track, multi-terrain, skid steer, and track-type loaders; forestry and wheel excavators; and site prep and track-type tractors. The company's Resource Industries segment provides electric rope and hydraulic shovels, draglines, rotary drills, hard rock vehicles, track-type tractors, mining trucks, longwall miners, wheel loaders, off-highway and articulated trucks, wheel tractor scrapers, wheel dozers, landfill and soil compactors, machinery components, autonomous vehicles and solutions, select work tools, and hard rock continuous mining systems. Its Energy & Transportation segment offers reciprocating engine powered generator sets; reciprocating engines and integrated systems for the power generation, marine, oil, and gas industries; turbines, centrifugal gas compressors, and related services; remanufactured reciprocating engines and components; 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, working capital loans, and wholesale financing; and insurance and risk management. Its All Other operating segment manufactures 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; and digital investments services. The company was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc. in 1986. The company was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois.
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