Zacks Research Forecasts Higher Earnings for Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lifted their FY2025 EPS estimates for Caterpillar in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $18.01 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $17.44. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $19.86 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s Q4 2025 earnings at $4.09 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $3.89 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $4.86 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $5.92 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $5.79 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $21.96 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on CAT. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. HSBC upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $596.59.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT traded down $12.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $560.19. The stock had a trading volume of 467,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,784,469. Caterpillar has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $596.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $501.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $424.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.17 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the sale, the insider owned 80,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,106,333.24. This trade represents a 15.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the sale, the chairman owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,457,335.17. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 77,846 shares of company stock valued at $38,241,493 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after buying an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.1% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,624,000 after buying an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $689,000. Finally, Parcion Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% during the first quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 19,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,571,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.