How to buy Caterpillar stock (CAT)

Caterpillar is a farm & heavy construction machinery business based in the US. Caterpillar shares (CAT) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Its last market close was $380.51 – a decrease of 4.7% over the previous week. Caterpillar employs 113,200 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around $65.7 billion.

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Caterpillar stock price (NYSE: CAT)

Use our graph to track the performance of CAT stocks over time.

Caterpillar shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2024-12-11.

Latest market close	$380.51
52-week range	$272.57 - $418.50
50-day moving average more info button	$392.69
200-day moving average more info button	$357.64
Wall St. target price	$381.90
PE ratio more info button	18.0534
Dividend yield more info button	$5.42 (1.45%)
Earnings per share (TTM) more info button	$21.54

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.

This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.

Caterpillar price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $380.51 from 2024-12-13

1 week (2024-12-10)	-2.03%
1 month (2024-11-15)	-0.93%
3 months (2024-09-17)	7.58%
6 months (2024-06-17)	18.02%

1 year (2023-12-15)	33.17%
2 years (2022-12-16)	69.53%
3 years (2021-12-17)	100.53%
5 years (2019-12-17)	190.13%

Is Caterpillar stock undervalued or overvalued?

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 18x. In other words, Caterpillar shares trade at around 18x recent earnings.

That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-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 2.6506. 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 $15.8 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	$65.7 billion
Operating margin TTM	19.5%
Gross profit TTM	$15.6 billion
Return on assets TTM	9.93%
Return on equity TTM	53.48%
Profit margin	16.26%
Book value	$40.18
Market Capitalization more info button	$187.7 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

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 12/31/2018) 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. 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: 24.65% of net profits

Recently Caterpillar has paid out, on average, around 0% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 0% 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 0% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Caterpillar's case, that would currently equate to about $5.42 per share.

While Caterpillar's payout ratio might seem low, this can signify that Caterpillar is investing more in its future growth.

Caterpillar's most recent dividend payout was on 19 November 2024. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 20 January 2025 (the "ex-dividend date").

Have Caterpillar's shares ever split?

Caterpillar's shares were split on a 2:1 basis on 13 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 $272.5684 up to $418.5. 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 1.095. This would suggest that Caterpillar's shares are a little bit more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a slightly higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

Caterpillar overview

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, 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, 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, revolving charge accounts, 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; logistics solutions and distribution services; brand management and marketing strategy services; and digital investments services.

Frequently asked questions

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What percentage of Caterpillar is owned by insiders or institutions?
Currently 0.208% of Caterpillar shares are held by insiders and 72.491% by institutions. How many people work for Caterpillar?
Latest data suggests 113,200 work at Caterpillar. When does the fiscal year end for Caterpillar?
Caterpillar's fiscal year ends in December. Where is Caterpillar based?
Caterpillar's address is: 5205 North O'Connor Boulevard, Irving, TX, United States, 75039 What is Caterpillar's ISIN number?
Caterpillar's international securities identification number is: US1491231015 What is Caterpillar's CUSIP number?
Caterpillar's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 149123101