Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.13.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT traded down $0.61 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $362.61. 1,516,421 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,334,189. The stock has a market cap of $175.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $375.80 and a 200 day moving average of $371.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 20.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after buying an additional 10,212 shares during the period. West Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $230,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares during the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $11,084,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,414,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is 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.