Caterpillar stock price
It is very important for us to first understand what is Caterpillar and then we shall proceed. Caterpillar Inc is an Illinois, U.S, based companies that is engaged in the manufacturing of earthmoving, material handling machinery and engines and other construction machinery. It is in fact one of the most renowned brands in U.S and world in the filed of construction and heavy machinery. Different types of products include wheel tractors, track and wheel excavators, dump trucks, log loaders, paving equipment etc. The company also manufactures machines for its own applications as well as for other applications like power generation etc. Insurance and financial services are also provided by the company. It is important to note here that more than half of sale is made overseas. The company is located at 100 NE Adams Street, Peoria IL 61629-7310. Let us now discuss about the stock of company.
CATERPILLAR STOCK
Like other companies, the stocks like shares etc of the company are freely traded at the stock exchange. A person can easily buy the stock of company by means of stockbrokers etc. The company also provides stocks to public by way of DRIP, the Dividend Reinvestment Plan. At New York Stock Exchange, also called as NYSE, the stock of the Caterpillar company is listed with the symbol CAT and this symbol has to be used by individuals, investors etc for getting the quote and in making trade transaction. It is to be noted here that when a person goes for getting the quote of the company, there is a delay of about 20 minutes and thus, quotes provided at the site of NYSE etc are as they were 20 minutes back. Before making an investment in the stocks of company, a person should confirm the quote from the stockbroker etc. Alike other stocks listed at the exchange, the stock of Caterpillar also undergoes change everyday and this is the reason why the stock price varies from one day to another. Let us now discuss the key characteristics of Caterpillar stock, its price and other related aspects of company.
CHARACTERISTICS, PRICE AND OTHER ASPECTS
The price of Caterpillar stock tends to change everyday and thus, there is no fixed price for which it is available at the stock exchange. For example, on 3rd July 2007, the price of the stock observed after hours at the New York Stocks Exchange was 78.11, which was +0.12 the price at which the stock traded last. The previous close of the stock at the same exchange was about 80.45 and it opened at the level of 79.19 on 3rd morning. The earning per share of the stock is 5.20 and the Forward P/E stands at 14.00. The market capitalization of stock is 49.91 billion. There are many factors that affect the price of Caterpillar stock. First of all, the price of stock goes up when there is more buying in stock takes place as compared to selling. Similarly, when there is more selling as compared to buying, the price of stock goes down. The price trend of the stock is not fixed for any day and variation is observed daily in the price of the stock. Thus, a person is required to either contact any stockbroker or monitor the price of the stock regularly in order to make a stock trade at the desired price.
The 52-week high for the Caterpillar stock has been registered at 82.89 whereas the 52-week low of the stock has been registered at 57.98. Thus, it can be rightly said that the stock is trading at its upper limits these days and there are many factors that can be attributed for this. Buying and selling stock at the exchange is no problem as the stock is traded at good volumes at the stock exchange. The average daily volume of stock is 5.57 million, which is indeed quite high. Thus, there are many trades that take place at different levels of price of stock. The 200-day average of the stock is 67.18 and the volatility is registered at 1.47%. Thus, there is not very high volatility attached to the stock. There are many factors that have contributed to high price of Caterpillar stock and due to which, the stock touched the 52-week high on 20th June 2007. Let us discuss these factors next.
The sales figure of Caterpillar Company has shown good growth in the past few years. The total growth has been registered at 15.2% in the past 5 years and the total sales in the past 12 months is 42.1 billion. The income for the past 12 months has been calculated at $3.5 billion. The dividend declared by the company is also one of the major factors affecting the price of the stock. The company declared dividend at the rate of 1.44 last year and the dividend yield stood at 1.85%. Apart from the above, the fundamental data released by the company has also helped the stock to gain huge points at exchange. The debt equity ratio of the company is 3.65 and the gross margin has been seen at 25.98%. The net profit margin of the company stood at 8.14% and the total number of shares that are outstanding at present are about 640 million. The stock scouter rating stood at 10. The earning estimates has also given the necessary push to the price of Caterpillar stock as the QTR 06/07 EPS Estimate stands at 1.49 and the FY 12/07 EPS Estimate stands at 5.57. Both of these are impressive figures. Current P/E is 15.00 and the Forward P/E is 14.00.
Thus, there are many factors that are responsible for the hike in the price of stock of Caterpillar INC.
SO, CATERPILLAR STOCK HAS PERFORMED WELL
After going through the above discussion, it can be rightly said that the stock of Caterpillar INC has done well in the past few years. There are many reasons as mentioned above. Since the company is expected to do well in the coming years, the stock price is also expected to go further, as it has already hit 52 week high. This is the reason why many experts believe that any slip in the current price of stock is a good opportunity to make investment in stock.
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