Investment Analysts’ Recent Ratings Changes for Caterpillar (CAT)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jan 24th, 2025

A number of firms have modified their ratings and price targets on shares of Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) recently:

1/17/2025 – Caterpillar was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
1/16/2025 – Caterpillar had its price target lowered by analysts at Truist Financial Co. from $471.00 to $455.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
1/14/2025 – Caterpillar had its price target lowered by analysts at Citigroup Inc. from $460.00 to $420.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
1/13/2025 – Caterpillar was upgraded by analysts at Evercore ISI from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating. They now have a $365.00 price target on the stock.
1/9/2025 – Caterpillar was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
1/1/2025 – Caterpillar was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
12/24/2024 – Caterpillar was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
12/19/2024 – Caterpillar had its price target raised by analysts at Truist Financial Co. from $454.00 to $471.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
12/10/2024 – Caterpillar was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
12/9/2024 – Caterpillar had its price target raised by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $500.00 to $515.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
12/9/2024 – Caterpillar had its price target raised by analysts at Citigroup Inc. from $435.00 to $460.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
12/6/2024 – Caterpillar had its price target raised by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group Inc. from $455.00 to $475.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $406.87 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $288.34 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $196.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $380.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $368.38.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share 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 net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business’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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $1,359,000. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 562 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 14,914 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,362,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.