Evercore ISI Downgrades Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) to Underperform

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) was downgraded by investment analysts at Evercore ISI from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $365.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $321.00. Evercore ISI’s target price suggests a potential downside of 5.77% from the stock’s previous close.

CAT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.1 %

CAT stock opened at $387.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $187.02 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.10. 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 one year low of $241.81 and a one year high of $418.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $379.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $353.59.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. This represents a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 23,471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,600,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 13.7% during the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.7% in the first quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 5,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,863,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Bright Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $232,000. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 81,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,689,000 after purchasing an additional 11,353 shares during the period. 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.