Evercore ISI Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective hoisted by Evercore ISI from $365.00 to $375.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an in-line rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on CAT. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $339.84 on Wednesday. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $369.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.24.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,704 shares of company stock valued at $7,226,584 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $230,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares in the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $11,084,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,414,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.