Erste Group Bank Estimates Caterpillar FY2026 Earnings

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Investment analysts at Erste Group Bank upped their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Caterpillar in a research report issued on Wednesday, July 15th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the industrial products company will post earnings of $24.56 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $24.44. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $24.86 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s FY2027 earnings at $30.31 EPS.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America increased their target price on Caterpillar from $930.00 to $989.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $980.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $980.57.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $876.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $931.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $792.83. Caterpillar has a one year low of $405.46 and a one year high of $1,073.46. The company has a market capitalization of $403.68 billion, a PE ratio of 43.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. The business had revenue of $17.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The company’s revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.25 EPS.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.06%.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 5,642 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $883.03, for a total transaction of $4,982,055.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,789.82. The trade was a 37.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total transaction of $14,928,254.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,041 shares in the company, valued at $42,210,388.80. This trade represents a 26.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,572,681,000 after purchasing an additional 442,164 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,388,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,273,039,000 after buying an additional 385,204 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,072,572,000 after acquiring an additional 94,524 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,438,408,000 after acquiring an additional 54,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Caterpillar by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,860,457,000 after acquiring an additional 928,974 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Key Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research lifted multiple Caterpillar earnings forecasts for 2026-2028 and reiterated a bullish stance in several notes, signaling confidence that profits can keep growing.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is still looking for double-digit profit growth in Caterpillar’s upcoming Q2 2026 report, which supports the long-term earnings narrative.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted Caterpillar’s exposure to AI data-center power buildout and other industrial/capital spending themes, which could support demand for its equipment.
• Neutral Sentiment: Caterpillar announced a $5 million Texas workforce initiative as part of a larger training commitment, which is positive for long-term brand and labor development but not an immediate earnings catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research also downgraded Caterpillar from “strong-buy” to “hold,” a more cautious signal that likely weighed on sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: The stock has also been pressured by broader market commentary, including reports that the Dow fell partly due to weakness in Caterpillar shares.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.