Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,830,000 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the August 31st total of 10,100,000 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,690,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,496,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Rollins Financial grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Rollins Financial now owns 6,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,496 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James started coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $339.94.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $392.40 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $348.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $347.14. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $397.22. The company has a market capitalization of $191.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.