As noted in My Top 3 Investing Mistakes: “Quantitative analysis is easy – just download the numbers and crunch them. Qualitative analysis takes time and can’t be automated. Getting to know a company is like getting to know a person – they are all unique and will likely require you doing something different to gain a full understanding of the company.”

For some stocks I spent years doing qualitative analysis before buying it. Understanding markets, customers, advantages, future technological changes, are all complicated.

CAT could be a value play as the quantitative analysis shows, but I am looking for a superior dividend play for my income portfolio. Historically, CAT has not measured up, but going forward it may.

Best Wishes,
D4L

As you know I’m big on the qualitative fundamentals of a company and one question I’ve been pondering after reading a number of your stock analyses is how your valuation method would look if you included some of those factors. Numbers are almost always looking back in time and getting a strong sense of where a company is positioned in reference to products/services, global markets, supply/demand can make a huge difference in the long-term moving forward. Those factors aren’t always easy to identify or quantify like EPS growth, etc…but it factors into my analysis in about a 50/50 split.

I hold a position of CAT in my RSP (ACB $60) as I’ve highlighted it as having Enduring Value, but I’ve very keen on adding to it shortly if/when it slips below $58. I like it’s strong balance sheet, forward earnings potential and product placement globally.