Erste Group Bank Upgrades Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) to Buy

Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CAT. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, July 14th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $466.53.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of CAT opened at $498.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $436.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $379.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $233.53 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.46. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $504.48.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.99 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Aire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the second quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 9,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,510,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.