Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective raised by Citigroup from $420.00 to $430.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 15.34% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on CAT. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $380.13.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT traded down $2.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $372.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,659,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,277,987. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $381.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $370.82. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $299.93 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $180.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 21.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,968. The trade was a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,900 shares of company stock worth $13,111,601. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, First Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently 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.