Dow Today: Bank Of America Corporation (BAC) Leads The Day Higher, Caterpillar (CAT) Lags

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) is trading up 34 points (+0.2%) at 14,486 as of Tuesday, Mar 19, 2013, 9:35 a.m. ET. During this time, 29.5 million shares of the 30 Dow components have changed hands vs. an average daily trading volume of 621.3 million. The NYSE advances/declines ratio sits at 1,683 issues advancing vs. 731 declining with 206 unchanged.

• EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Jim Cramer's Protégé, Dave Peltier, only buys Stocks Under $10 that he thinks could potentially double. See what he's trading today with a 14-day FREE pass.

The Dow component leading the way higher looks to be Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC), which is sporting a 19-cent gain (+1.5%) bringing the stock to $12.75. This single gain is lifting the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 1.44 points or roughly accounting for 4.2% of the Dow's overall gain. Volume for Bank of America Corporation currently sits at 17.1 million shares traded vs. an average daily trading volume of 166.6 million shares.

Bank of America Corporation has a market cap of $136.01 billion and is part of the financial sector and banking industry. Shares are up 8.2% year to date as of Monday's close. The stock's dividend yield sits at 0.3%.

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides various banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle market businesses, institutional investors, corporations, and governments in the United States and internationally. The company has a P/E ratio of 50.3, above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7.

TheStreet Ratings rates Bank of America Corporation as a hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its expanding profit margins, solid stock price performance and notable return on equity. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including unimpressive growth in net income, generally higher debt management risk and weak operating cash flow.

• You can view the full Bank of America Ratings Report.

Holding back the Dow today is Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), which is lagging the broader Dow index with a 41-cent decline (-0.5%) bringing the stock to $88.95. Volume for Caterpillar currently sits at 249,391 shares traded vs. an average daily trading volume of six million shares.

• See our dividend calendar or top-yielding stocks list.

Caterpillar has a market cap of $58.1 billion and is part of the industrial goods sector and industrial industry. Shares are down 0.3% year to date as of Monday's close. The stock's dividend yield sits at 2.3%.

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. The company has a P/E ratio of 10.5, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7.

TheStreet Ratings rates Caterpillar as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its good cash flow from operations and notable return on equity. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income.

• You can view the full Caterpillar Ratings Report.

It's Official: Action Alerts PLUS beats the S&P 500 with Dividends Reinvested! Cramer and Link were up 16.72% in 2012. Were you? See what they are trading for 14-days FREE.

For more information on Bank of America Corporation click any of the following:

• Bank of America Corporation Stock Price

• Bank of America Corporation Analyst Ratings

• Bank of America Corporation Key Stats & Profile

• Bank of America Corporation Earnings

• Bank of America Corporation Ratio Comparison

• Bank of America Corporation Growth Rates

• Bank of America Corporation Balance Sheet

• Bank of America Corporation Cash Flow

• Bank of America Corporation Income Statement