Caterpillar (CAT) Set to Announce Earnings on Wednesday

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) will be posting its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Wednesday, October 30th. Analysts expect Caterpillar to post earnings of $5.38 per share for the quarter. Investors that wish to register for the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.55 EPS. On average, analysts expect Caterpillar to post $22 EPS for the current fiscal year and $23 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.5 %

CAT opened at $388.48 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $365.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $350.37. The firm has a market cap of $189.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $403.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $355.50.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

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 sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.