Caterpillar Inc. Forecasted to Earn Q3 2024 Earnings of $5.59 Per Share (NYSE:CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Stock analysts at DA Davidson issued their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for Caterpillar in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, August 8th. DA Davidson analyst M. Shlisky forecasts that the industrial products company will earn $5.59 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $21.57 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s FY2024 earnings at $22.79 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $337.38.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.6 %

CAT stock opened at $338.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $333.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $338.78. The firm has a market cap of $165.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 10,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,919,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 2,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,863 shares of company stock valued at $8,837,714. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.