Zacks Research Has Weak Outlook for Caterpillar Q2 Earnings

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for Caterpillar in a report issued on Wednesday, November 13th. Zacks Research analyst M. Das now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings of $5.14 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $5.49. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $21.69 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s FY2025 earnings at $20.61 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $5.27 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $5.66 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $5.48 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $22.19 EPS.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm’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 earned $5.52 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $384.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $185.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $241.81 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $380.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $353.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 42.9% during the third 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 institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. This trade represents a 16.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

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.