Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.31.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $378.35 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $345.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $345.68. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $223.76 and a 52-week high of $389.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.46 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.91 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Souders Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 3,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 2,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.