Is Caterpillar Poised to Crawl Back?

Updated

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, heavy equipment giant Caterpillar (NYS: CAT) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Caterpillar and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Caterpillarfacts

Headquarters (founded)

Peoria, Ill. (1925)

Market Cap

$53.0 billion

Industry

Construction and farm machinery

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$67.0 billion

Management

Chairman/CEO Douglas Oberhelman

CFO Edward Rapp

Return on Equity (average, past 3 years)

32.2%

Cash/Debt

$3.4 billion / $39.9 billion

Dividend Yield

2.4%

Competitors

CNH Global (NYS: CNH)

Deere (NYS: DE)

Terex (NYS: TEX)


Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 94% of the 6,024 members who have rated Caterpillar believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Earlier this week, one of those Fools, adamlevy, touched on the tailwinds working in Caterpillar's favor:

China's economy looks to be moving back on track. Increased lending and approval of infrastructure projects will help the company going forward.

Also, U.S. construction outlook is good. 1 million net new house constructions are expected in 2013. Education, highway, and energy construction projects that were delayed in 2012 are expected to move forward in 2013 and 2014. The [Panama Canal] expansion is expected to be completed by 2015. There are a lot of prospects for Caterpillar in the US and abroad.

~$85 looks to be a new support level, and I expect shares to climb back to $115 levels.

If you want market-thumping returns, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Of course, despite a strong four-star rating, Caterpillar may not be your top choice.

Caterpillar is the market share leader in an industry in which size matters, and its quality products, extensive service network, and unparalleled brand strength combine to give it solid competitive advantages. Read all about Caterpillar's strengths and weaknesses in our brand new report. Just click here to access it now.

Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.

The article Is Caterpillar Poised to Crawl Back? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Brian Pacampara has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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