Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Citigroup from $435.00 to $460.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 18.42% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial increased their target price on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $374.69.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $388.44 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 firm has a market cap of $187.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $259.12 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $393.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $359.52.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 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.