Watchlist candidate Caterpillar continues to trade near its all-time high, reached last June. And on Tuesday its stock Relative Strength Rating rose to 84, of 99. Caterpillar stock closed at to 213.62, up 0.7% for the day.
The 84 RS Rating means that top-ranked Caterpillar stock has outperformed 83% of all stocks, regardless of industry group, over the past year. It's a notable bump up because market research shows that the market's biggest winners often have an RS Rating above 80 in the early stages of their moves.
Caterpillar Stock Tops 78% Of All Stocks
Among its other key ratings, Caterpillar stock has a 79 Composite Rating and a passable 70 EPS Rating. One outstanding rating is its A SMR Rating (sales+profit margins+return on equity) on an A to E scale with A superb. One notable poor rating is its D- Accumulation/Distribution Rating, on an A+ to E scale with A+ tops. The D- rating shows that institutional investors such as mutual funds and insurance company funds are currently selling more than buying its stock.
In terms of fundamentals, Caterpillar posted 0% earnings growth in the latest quarterly report, probably a major reason big money investors aren't on board right now. It should be noted though that it faced tough comps vs. the same quarter last year when sales boomed as the pandemic began to recede. In the three quarters prior to last quarter, it reported EPS gains of 105%, 75% and 27%. Sales last quarter grew 14% to $13.6 billion.
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Caterpillar stock is trying to complete a consolidation with a 246.79 entry, 10 cents above its all-time high 246.69 set last year. See if the stock can clear the breakout price in heavy trade.
Other Companies In Machinery Industry Group
Caterpillar stock holds the No. 1 rank among its peers in the Machinery-Construction/Mining industry group. CNH Industrial, Terex, Manitowoc and Astec Industries are also in the top five.
When looking for the best stocks to buy and watch, one factor to watch closely is relative price strength.
This proprietary Relative Strength Rating identifies market leadership by using a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score that identifies how a stock's price performance over the trailing 52 weeks matches up against other publicly traded companies.
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