Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective raised by Truist Financial from $454.00 to $471.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Truist Financial’s target price suggests a potential upside of 28.67% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CAT. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $375.63.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $366.04 on Thursday. 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 $176.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $276.94 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $389.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $361.42.

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 the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This trade represents a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.