Caterpillar Inc. to Post FY2024 Earnings of $22.25 Per Share, DA Davidson Forecasts (NYSE:CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Equities researchers at DA Davidson boosted their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of Caterpillar in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 30th. DA Davidson analyst M. Shlisky now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings of $22.25 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $21.19. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $21.67 per share.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on CAT. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.35.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $336.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $164.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.19. 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 $205.60 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $351.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $303.11.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

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.