Zacks Research Forecasts Stronger Earnings for Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research increased their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Caterpillar in a research report issued on Tuesday, January 21st. Zacks Research analyst M. Das now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $5.33 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $5.30. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $21.69 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s Q4 2025 earnings at $5.70 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $20.81 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $5.40 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $5.81 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $5.66 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $5.96 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $22.83 EPS.

CAT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.60.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of CAT opened at $397.68 on Thursday. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $287.52 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $192.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $380.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $368.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after purchasing an additional 67,148 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,286,582,000 after buying an additional 75,973 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after acquiring an additional 64,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,262,290,000 after acquiring an additional 8,088 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

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.