Caterpillar Inc. Forecasted to Earn Q3 2024 Earnings of $5.59 Per Share (NYSE:CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Analysts at DA Davidson issued their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for Caterpillar in a note issued to investors on Thursday, August 8th. DA Davidson analyst M. Shlisky anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings of $5.59 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $21.57 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s FY2024 earnings at $22.79 EPS.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on CAT. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $337.38.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $338.26 on Friday. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $333.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $338.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $165.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.27, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,863 shares of company stock valued at $8,837,714 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

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.