StockNews.com Downgrades Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) to Buy

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Caterpillar from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Caterpillar from $282.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 8th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Caterpillar from $287.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on Caterpillar from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, HSBC assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $266.80.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT traded down $2.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $250.55. 2,661,397 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,066,492. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $259.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.78. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $204.04 and a 52-week high of $293.88.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $5.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $16.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.57 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.69% and a return on equity of 56.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 20.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 2,923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.00, for a total transaction of $815,517.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,182 shares in the company, valued at $4,514,778. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Savoie Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at approximately $946,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth approximately $213,000. Creative Planning raised its stake in Caterpillar by 3.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 167,131 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,627,000 after buying an additional 4,988 shares in the last quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth approximately $358,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 148.4% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar, Inc engages in the manufacture of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. It operates through the following segments: Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy and Transportation, Financial Products, and All Other.