Zacks Research Predicts Increased Earnings for Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for Caterpillar in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, November 28th. Zacks Research analyst M. Das now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $5.30 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $5.28. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $21.67 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s Q4 2025 earnings at $5.65 EPS.

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

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on CAT. Truist Financial raised their price target on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays raised their price target on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $399.24 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $252.42 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $392.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $358.40. The firm has a market cap of $192.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was 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 approximately $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,987,206,000 after acquiring an additional 67,148 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 205,012 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Caterpillar by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,286,582,000 after acquiring an additional 75,973 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,418,793,000 after acquiring an additional 64,452 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,262,290,000 after acquiring an additional 8,088 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.