Zacks Research Increases Earnings Estimates for Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research upped their FY2025 earnings estimates for shares of Caterpillar in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the industrial products company will earn $18.01 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $17.44. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $19.86 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s Q4 2025 earnings at $4.09 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $3.89 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $4.86 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $5.92 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $5.79 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $21.96 EPS.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CAT. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $729.00 price target (up from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $596.59.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT traded down $12.83 on Thursday, reaching $560.19. The company had a trading volume of 467,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,784,469. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $501.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $424.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company has a market cap of $262.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $596.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.17 earnings per share.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 31.01%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total transaction of $686,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $757,047.06. The trade was a 47.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,846 shares of company stock worth $38,241,493. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1,060.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its stake in Caterpillar by 49.2% during the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.