Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Upgraded by Evercore ISI to “In-Line” Rating

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from an underperform rating to an in-line rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $365.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on CAT. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.33.

Caterpillar Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $362.82 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $381.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $365.94. The firm has a market cap of $175.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $276.94 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

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

About Caterpillar

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.