Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Short Interest Down 7.8% in November

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,760,000 shares, a drop of 7.8% from the October 31st total of 10,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE CAT traded down $3.27 on Tuesday, hitting $399.24. 1,713,966 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,111,081. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $392.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $358.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $252.42 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $192.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.67 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This represents a 3.65 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the second quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,606,000 after buying an additional 266,969 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,908,000 after acquiring an additional 200,210 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.