Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial reiterated a buy rating and set a $399.00 price objective (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a market perform rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $336.31.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $345.31 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $167.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $382.01. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $340.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $343.83. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,660,560,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 306.9% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,385,000 after buying an additional 307,479 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3,319.7% in the second quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,606,000 after buying an additional 266,969 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $97,042,000. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 99.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 488,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $179,060,000 after purchasing an additional 244,253 shares during the period. 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.