Caterpillar (CAT) Projected to Post Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) is expected to announce its earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, January 30th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $4.97 per share and revenue of $16.53 billion for the quarter. Persons interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Caterpillar to post $22 EPS for the current fiscal year and $22 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE CAT opened at $390.29 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $381.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $370.23. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $297.45 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAT. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.60.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.29% 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.