Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Cut to “Underperform” at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from an in-line rating to an underperform rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $365.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $321.00.

CAT has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $384.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $241.81 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $380.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $353.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,968. This trade represents a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 23,471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,600,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 13.7% during the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 3.7% during the first quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 5,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,863,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Bright Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $232,000. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 81,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,689,000 after buying an additional 11,353 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.