Brokers Issue Forecasts for Caterpillar Inc.’s Q1 2024 Earnings (NYSE:CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Caterpillar in a research note issued on Wednesday, April 17th. Zacks Research analyst M. Das now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $5.10 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $5.00. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $21.33 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s Q2 2024 earnings at $5.41 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $5.29 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $5.21 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $21.01 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $5.14 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $5.80 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $5.83 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $5.53 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $22.31 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $5.26 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $22.71 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.56.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $358.33 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $345.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $296.78. The stock has a market cap of $178.95 billion, a PE ratio of 17.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $204.04 and a 1 year high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.86 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Southland Equity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the first quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.1% in the first quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 7.4% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC now owns 830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total value of $3,101,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.82%.

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.