Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

CAT has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.33.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.1 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $362.76 on Wednesday. Caterpillar has a one year low of $276.94 and a one year high of $418.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $385.42 and a 200 day moving average of $363.76. 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 stock has a market cap of $175.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued 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 business 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%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,714,323.35. This trade represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were 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 represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Lantz Financial LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.5% in the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 21,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,123,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 30.2% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 4,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,592,000 after buying an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp boosted its position in Caterpillar by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 3,175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, First National Trust Co grew its stake in Caterpillar by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 48,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,263,000 after acquiring an additional 6,619 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.