Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.16 EPS

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.52 EPS.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock traded up $3.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $379.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,633,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,624,214. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $372.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $351.42. The company has a market cap of $184.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $232.88 and a twelve month high of $403.60.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CAT. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $357.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.