Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $384.33.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CAT. StockNews.com raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $366.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.72 billion, a PE ratio of 16.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a 12-month low of $276.94 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $389.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $361.66.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently 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.