Zacks Research Decreases Earnings Estimates for Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Caterpillar in a research report issued on Thursday, February 13th. Zacks Research analyst M. Das now forecasts that the industrial products company will earn $4.32 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $4.59. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $20.05 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s FY2027 earnings at $22.12 EPS.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.13.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $353.31 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $372.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $372.14. The stock has a market cap of $170.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares during the period. West Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $230,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,181 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $11,084,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,414,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

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.