Rothschild & Co Redburn Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective lifted by analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from $420.00 to $650.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 2.65% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on CAT. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $645.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Caterpillar from $557.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $627.00.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of CAT stock traded up $4.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $633.20. 250,785 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,257,731. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $655.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $589.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $506.98. The company has a market capitalization of $296.33 billion, a PE ratio of 32.52, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total transaction of $4,666,353.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,669,312.16. This trade represents a 16.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total transaction of $5,750,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,460 shares in the company, valued at $26,142,227.60. This trade represents a 18.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 54,729 shares of company stock valued at $31,084,308 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,165,899,000. Groupe la Francaise lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 82.0% during the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 27,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,820,000 after acquiring an additional 12,278 shares during the period. Trivium Point Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 132.9% during the second quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 155.9% in the third quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 47,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,014,000 after purchasing an additional 28,773 shares during the period. Finally, Palmer Knight Co bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $5,884,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.