Q3 EPS Estimates for Caterpillar Boosted by Zacks Research

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for Caterpillar in a research note issued on Tuesday, January 21st. Zacks Research analyst M. Das now forecasts that the industrial products company will post earnings of $5.33 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $5.30. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $21.69 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s Q4 2025 earnings at $5.70 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $20.81 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $5.40 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $5.81 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $5.66 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $5.96 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $22.83 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on CAT. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.60.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $397.68 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $192.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of $380.20 and a 200-day moving average of $368.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $287.52 and a 1-year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAT. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after buying an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,908,000 after purchasing an additional 200,210 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,108,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $702,431,000 after buying an additional 198,123 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

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.