Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $305.00 and last traded at $305.75, with a volume of 3735052 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $334.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Trading Down 5.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $137.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $346.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $371.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.