Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Short Interest Up 7.2% in September

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,830,000 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the August 31st total of 10,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,690,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James started coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $399.00 target price (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 17.2% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $926,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 278,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $92,688,000 after acquiring an additional 9,321 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.1% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 13,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,475,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $15,009,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.0 %

CAT stock opened at $391.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $346.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $346.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $223.76 and a 52-week high of $397.22.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 21.91 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.