Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Bank of America Analyst Says

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $735.00 to $825.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 11.11% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CAT. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $677.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Caterpillar from $569.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $695.19.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE:CAT opened at $742.51 on Tuesday. Caterpillar has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $743.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $620.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $532.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $347.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The business had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.14 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 39,138 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $681.08, for a total transaction of $26,656,109.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 43,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,524,818. This represents a 47.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 10,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.45, for a total transaction of $7,261,081.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,151 shares in the company, valued at $28,001,197.95. This represents a 20.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 130,545 shares of company stock valued at $88,294,733 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $28,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1,060.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 220.0% during the fourth quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.