STOCK COMPARISON
Federal Signal vs Caterpillar: Fair Value & Quality
Both stocks run through our valuation models. Here is how Federal Signal (FSS) and Caterpillar (CAT) compare, as of Aug 10, 2026.
As of Aug 10, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees Federal Signal as the less overvalued of the two: Federal Signal trades at $128 versus a fair value of $60.75 (-53%), while Caterpillar trades at $842 versus $308 (-63%).
Federal Signal
FSS · USD · Industrials
-53%
upside to fair value
overvalued
Price$128
Fair Value$60.75
Quality61/100
Caterpillar
CAT · USD · Industrials
-63%
upside to fair value
overvalued
Price$842
Fair Value$308
Quality64/100
Head-to-head numbers
Green value = the better side for that row (for valuation multiples: lower = cheaper).
Federal SignalCaterpillar
Valuation
27.2×P/E (TTM)47.2×
3.04×P/S (TTM)6.11×
5.15×P/B20.27×
16.1×EV/EBITDA31.1×
1.78×PEG2.25×
0.5%Dividend yield0.6%
$0.57Dividend per share$6.04
Profitability
12%Net margin13%
16%Operating margin18%
21%Return on equity51%
11%Return on assets9%
Growth
35%Revenue growth (YoY)22%
15.0%Avg. growth/yr (3Y)4.4%
14.0%Avg. growth/yr (5Y)10.1%
Balance & size
0.41×Debt / equity1.44×
$7BMarket cap$432B
healthyGrowth qualityhealthy
Federal Signal leads: 10 to 4 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.
Federal Signalof which business quality 61 · market factors 53
Caterpillarof which business quality 62 · market factors 61
ProfitabilityMargins and returns on capital today
59
61
Quality GrowthAre margins and returns improving?
42
22
CashflowEarnings quality: real cash, not paper profit
56
68
Fin. StrengthBalance sheet, leverage, solvency risk
75
51
InvestmentDisciplined investing over empire-building
45
72
Low VolatilityCalm price path (market factor)
50
32
MomentumPrice trend over the last 3–12 months (market factor)
50
68
52W MomentumDistance to the 52-week high (market factor)
59
83
Net IssuanceBuybacks instead of dilution
83
100
What the models say
The median fair value (base case) per model family, each in the currency of its trading venue. Green = above the current price, red = below.
Federal Signal
DCF Models$65.73
Earnings-Based$31.97
Dividend Discount$8.78
Multiples$76.81
Asset-Based$15.18
Growth DCF$53.80
Economic Profit$40.50
Growth Earnings$73.66
26 of 26 models see the stock below the current price.
Caterpillar
DCF Models$365
Earnings-Based$151
Dividend Discount$111
Multiples$314
Asset-Based$31.01
Growth DCF$326
Economic Profit$220
Growth Earnings$361
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.
Federal Signal
Bear $36.02Fair Value $60.75Bull $95.76
$128 = current price (white tick)
Caterpillar
Bear $196Fair Value $308Bull $403
$842 = current price (white tick)
Compare two other stocks
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Ranked within their sector
Where each stock sits within its sector peer group. Band = middle 50% of peers, tick = median, dot = this stock.
Federal Signal · Industrials
Quality score61 · above median
Fair value upside-53% · below median
Caterpillar · Industrials
Quality score64 · Top 25%
Fair value upside-63% · bottom 25%
Bottom line
As of Aug 10, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees Federal Signal as the less overvalued of the two: Federal Signal trades at $128 versus a fair value of $60.75 (-53%), while Caterpillar trades at $842 versus $308 (-63%).
Caterpillar has the higher quality score (64/100).
See the full analysis →
More comparisons
Popular match-ups from the same sectors, all with fair value and quality score.
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A model-based valuation snapshot from 21 models. Values change with price and fundamentals; the date shown above applies.
