Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

CAT has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.13.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT traded down $0.61 on Tuesday, reaching $362.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,516,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,334,189. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. Caterpillar has a 12-month low of $307.05 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $375.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $371.86. The stock has a market cap of $175.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is 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.