EN DE
STOCK COMPARISON

Caterpillar vs Federal Signal: Fair Value & Quality

Both stocks run through our valuation models. Here is how Caterpillar (CAT) and Federal Signal (FSS) compare, as of Sep 5, 2026.

As of Sep 5, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees Federal Signal as the less overvalued of the two: Caterpillar trades at $800 versus a fair value of $308 (-62%), while Federal Signal trades at $117 versus $59.53 (-49%).
Caterpillar
CAT · USD · Industrials
-62%
upside to fair value
overvalued
Price$800
Fair Value$308
Quality65/100
Federal Signal
FSS · USD · Industrials
-49%
upside to fair value
overvalued
Price$117
Fair Value$59.53
Quality61/100
Get comparisons like this free by email every month: the most undervalued quality stocks.

Head-to-head numbers

Green value = the better side for that row (for valuation multiples: lower = cheaper).

CaterpillarFederal Signal
Valuation
40.1×P/E (TTM)27.2×
6.11×P/S (TTM)3.04×
20.27×P/B5.15×
31.1×EV/EBITDA16.1×
2.25×PEG1.78×
−61.5%Fair value upside−49.2%
0.8%Dividend yield0.5%
$6.04Dividend per share$0.57
Profitability
18%Operating margin16%
1.52×EBIT margin trend (5Y)1.41×
51%Return on equity21%
9%Return on assets11%
Growth
22%Revenue growth (YoY)35%
4.4%Avg. growth/yr (3Y)15.0%
10.1%Avg. growth/yr (5Y)14.0%
+12.8%Value creation/yr+20.3%
Balance & size
10.9×Interest coverage (EBIT/interest)25.3×
1.44×Debt / equity0.41×
$432BMarket cap$7B
healthyGrowth qualityhealthy

Federal Signal leads: 3 to 12 metric wins.

Dash = not meaningfully computable, for example with negative equity.

Quality in detail

The quality score, broken down into the same factor families as on the stock page, 0 to 100 per family.

Caterpillarof which business quality 62 · market factors 58 Federal Signalof which business quality 61 · market factors 46
ProfitabilityMargins and returns on capital today
61
59
Quality GrowthAre margins and returns improving?
22
42
CashflowEarnings quality: real cash, not paper profit
68
56
Fin. StrengthBalance sheet, leverage, solvency risk
51
75
InvestmentDisciplined investing over empire-building
72
45
Low VolatilityCalm price path (market factor)
32
50
MomentumPrice trend over the last 3–12 months (market factor)
62
48
52W MomentumDistance to the 52-week high (market factor)
80
39
Net IssuanceBuybacks instead of dilution
100
83

What the models say

How far the median fair value (base case) per model family sits from the current price, in percent. The amount in the currency of the trading venue is shown underneath.

above the price, more than 15% above close to the price, 85% to 115% of the price below the price, more than 15% below

Model familyCaterpillarPrice $800Federal SignalPrice $117
DCF Models-54%below the price$365-44%below the price$65.73
Earnings-Based-81%below the price$151-73%below the price$31.97
Dividend Discount-86%below the price$111-93%below the price$8.78
Multiples-61%below the price$314-34%below the price$76.81
Asset-Based-96%below the price$31.01-87%below the price$15.18
Growth DCF-59%below the price$326-54%below the price$53.80
Economic Profit-72%below the price$220-65%below the price$40.50
Growth Earnings-55%below the price$361-37%below the price$73.66
Minimum-96%below the price$31.01-93%below the price$8.78
Maximum-54%below the price$365-34%below the price$76.81
Median-67%below the price$267-60%below the price$47.15
Geometric mean-77%below the price$188-68%below the price$36.92

Minimum, maximum, median and geometric mean refer to the family values in this table. Geometric because deviations are ratios: half the price and twice the price average to 100%, not 125%.

Caterpillar: 26 of 26 models see the stock below the current price.

Federal Signal: 26 of 26 models see the stock below the current price.

Scenario ranges

From our cautious bear case to the optimistic bull case. The white tick is the current price: left of fair value means room to run.

Caterpillar
Bear $192Fair Value $308Bull $403
$800 = current price (white tick)
Federal Signal
Bear $35.33Fair Value $59.53Bull $95.76
$117 = current price (white tick)

Compare two other stocks

Tap a field and type again, ticker or company name.

Free, no sign-up

Ranked within their sector

Where each stock sits within its sector peer group. Band = middle 50% of peers, tick = median, dot = this stock.

Caterpillar · Industrials

Quality score65 · Top 25%
Fair value upside-62% · bottom 25%

Federal Signal · Industrials

Quality score61 · above median
Fair value upside-49% · below median

Bottom line

As of Sep 5, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees Federal Signal as the less overvalued of the two: Caterpillar trades at $800 versus a fair value of $308 (-62%), while Federal Signal trades at $117 versus $59.53 (-49%).

Caterpillar has the higher quality score (65/100).

See the full analysis →
Caterpillar · Federal Signal

More comparisons

Popular match-ups from the same sectors, all with fair value and quality score.

Related to Caterpillar

Alphabet Inc Class C vs Verizon CommunicationsAlphabet Inc Class C vs At&tAlphabet Inc Class C vs NetEaseAmazon.com vs PDD Holdings

Related to Federal Signal

Amazon.com vs Sony GroupMeta Platforms vs Verizon CommunicationsMeta Platforms vs At&tMeta Platforms vs NetEase
Free · Top-25 report

See the undervalued quality stocks every month

Just your email for the monthly Top-25 report of the most undervalued quality stocks, with fair value, quality and price target. Plus 14 days of Pro to try, no card.

Free. You confirm by email (double opt-in) and can unsubscribe anytime in one click. Not financial advice.

A model-based valuation snapshot from 26 models. Values change with price and fundamentals; the date shown above applies.