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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on CAT. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a buy rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a market perform rating on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a buy rating and set a $399.00 price objective (up previously from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $336.31.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $347.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.17 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $341.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $344.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Caterpillar has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.55 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,496,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Rollins Financial lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 49.1% during the fourth quarter. Rollins Financial now owns 6,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,496 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, First Heartland Consultants Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 3,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $984,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.