Brokers Issue Forecasts for Caterpillar Inc.’s Q1 2024 Earnings (NYSE:CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for Caterpillar in a research note issued on Wednesday, April 17th. Zacks Research analyst M. Das now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $5.10 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $5.00. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $21.33 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s Q2 2024 earnings at $5.41 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $5.29 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $5.21 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $21.01 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $5.14 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $5.80 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $5.83 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $5.53 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $22.31 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $5.26 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $22.71 EPS.

CAT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.56.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $358.33 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $178.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $204.04 and a 1 year high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $345.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $296.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.86 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 272.4% during the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 730.8% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares in the company, valued at $20,197,792.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $3,000,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares in the company, valued at $20,197,792.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 25.82%.

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.