Image source: Caterpillar.
At the time of this writing, prices of key commodities, including oil, copper, and aluminum are testing their six-year lows. This turn of events is a double whammy for a company like Caterpillar (CAT -0.43%) that makes heavy machinery for the mining and oil & gas sectors. Not surprisingly, Caterpillar stock is down nearly 21% year to date.
At the same time, the recent slide in its stock price has pushed Caterpillar's dividend yield to a five-year high of 4.1%, making it one of the most attractive dividend stocks in the industry today. But is this sustainable, given the severe headwinds that the company continues to face? With its revenue and earnings taking a sharp dip in recent years – revenue and operating profits in 2014 were down 16% and 37%, respectively, from 2012 -- and key end markets moving from bad to worse, is Caterpillar's dividend in jeopardy?
Find out the answer in the slideshow below, which digs deeper into Caterpillar's leverage, cash flows, and dividend history to decide whether the company can continue to pay out a healthy dividend.
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