StockNews.com Upgrades Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) to Buy

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CAT. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $384.33.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $359.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $173.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. 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 12-month low of $276.94 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $384.88 and a 200-day moving average of $363.74.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,079,968. The trade was a 20.71 % 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 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% during the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 47.2% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.