Table Ia

Company

	FIRMs
	Caterpillar (CAT)	Eaton (ETN)	Lowes (LOW)	Target (TGT)
EPS Basic	5.51	3.51	7.1	7.62
EPS Diluted	5.46	3.49	7.1	7.54
PE (Price Earnings Ratio)	39.54	37.30	22.5	24.33
Return on Assets (ROA)	3.81	4.35	11.61	7.83
Return on Equity (ROE)	19.99	9.07	152.88	28.45
Current Ratio	1.53	1.56	1.01	0.89
Total Debt / Equity	2.42	0.54	9.79	0.97
Total Asset Turnover	0.53	0.55	1.96	1.86

1. How would you rank the four firms in terms of financial performance?
2. Why might their financial performance differ?
3. What economic or market factors might account for big differences in the P/E ratios?