Caterpillar (CAT) Projected to Post Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) is expected to post its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, January 30th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $5.00 per share and revenue of $16,480,748.34 billion for the quarter. Persons interested in listening to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Caterpillar to post $22 EPS for the current fiscal year and $22 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $397.68 on Thursday. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $287.52 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $192.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $379.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $368.17.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $380.60.

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.