Oppenheimer Reiterates Market Perform Rating for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT)

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reiterated by analysts at Oppenheimer in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on CAT. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.56.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $354.68 on Thursday. Caterpillar has a one year low of $204.04 and a one year high of $382.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $346.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $297.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.86 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 21.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 272.4% during the 1st quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Aspect Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 730.8% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.