Caterpillar (CAT) to Release Earnings on Thursday

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) is scheduled to post its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect Caterpillar to post earnings of $5.11 per share for the quarter. Individual that are interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Caterpillar to post $21 EPS for the current fiscal year and $23 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $363.39 on Wednesday. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $204.04 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $348.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $3,000,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,197,792.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,197,792.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.