Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $384.33.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $360.75 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $383.04 and a 200 day moving average of $365.03. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $276.94 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 47.2% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $54,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.