Anyone believe this would be a good time to invest in this company since the 7.8 earthquake that hit China.

right now its trading at $83.70

 

I work for Toromont, an industrial holdings company in Toronto that owns 36 CAT dealerships, along with companies in the refrigeration, gas compression, power generation, and equipment rental industries. Our symbol is TIH on the TSX.

Our shares tend to follow CAT's trends because it's the largest portion of our business, but we're a little more buffered thanks to the other companies we own. We don't get the big swings in share prices that CAT can see from time to time, but our shares have gone up 5 fold in the past 5 years, if you factor in the splits.

I think if you already have a well-diversified portfolio, CAT shares are a good choice. Toromont is more of a long-term investment, but it has done very well for me and my family over the years.

 

[ibstright(paint)balling/water-swithjohndeerecomparison]

One thought here: a disaster in a distant country with its own heavy construction machinery industry will probably have minimal benefit to US domestic manufacturers. Wouldn't stock prices in construction machinery firms more likely depend on longer-term issues like overall construction in the US, aka demand, and changes in production costs- steel, materials, labor contracts, taxes, transporatation costs, etc.??

 

if you want to play buildout as a whole go with an infrastructure company so you get exposure to engineering & power, oil & gas, etc.

Fluor FLR
Foster Wheeler FWLT
Jacobs Engineering JEC
Chicago Bridge and Iron CBI
McDermott MDR

i think FLR is the best due to having the heaviest international exposure. but they also trade at a higher multiple

but if you're dead set on CAT specifically its always a solid long term play. look to get in around 80/78 if it pulls back that much. just set a limit order and forget about it and see if it hits

 

What's your feeling Dan in regards to CAT's foray in agriculture products? With commodity prices increasing dramatically and global shortages, has the increased production of cereal grains and corn led to an increased demand in CAT's agriculture line?

Terry

 

I don't think our Ag division is doing all that well, but we don't sell to the asian markets, so it might be going crazy over there and I just wouldn't know. Our biggest sectors are still mining and construction, but our power systems unit (gensets/marine/on-highway truck) is growing exponentially.

 

Shippers are another play on recent China events.
The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) is at an all time high.

 

Thanks for the information. I've been curious as of late, as I've seen an increasing amount of the Challenger products.

Terry