Zacks Research Forecasts Stronger Earnings for Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Caterpillar in a report released on Thursday, November 28th. Zacks Research analyst M. Das now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $5.30 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $5.28. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $21.67 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s Q4 2025 earnings at $5.65 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CAT. Barclays boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $406.11 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $247.84 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $391.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $357.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 3.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 17,589 shares of company stock worth $7,113,953 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAT. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,606,000 after purchasing an additional 266,969 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its position in Caterpillar by 4,018.6% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 34.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $305,908,000 after purchasing an additional 200,210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.