Zacks Research Increases Earnings Estimates for Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q2 2026 earnings estimates for Caterpillar in a report issued on Monday, May 19th. Zacks Research analyst M. Das now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings of $4.93 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $4.91. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $19.86 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s Q3 2026 earnings at $4.97 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $5.23 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $19.72 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $21.56 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on CAT. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $396.00 target price (up from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.33.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of CAT stock opened at $342.67 on Thursday. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $318.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $353.46. The company has a market cap of $161.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.1% during the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 7,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,458,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. MBL Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. MBL Wealth LLC now owns 1,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 218.8% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 41,743 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,763,000 after buying an additional 28,650 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,684 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,172,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. Finally, Acorns Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 26.6% in the 1st quarter. Acorns Advisers LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

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.