Caterpillar FY2026 EPS Estimate Boosted by Erste Group Bank

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for Caterpillar to $22.90 (from $22.70), versus the Street consensus of $19.86 per share.
• Caterpillar recently beat quarterly expectations with $5.16 EPS and $19.13 billion in revenue (up 17.9% YoY), and multiple analysts have lifted price targets, leaving a MarketBeat consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a $737.55 target.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) - Erste Group Bank upped their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Caterpillar in a research note issued on Thursday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $22.90 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $22.70. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar's current full-year earnings is $19.86 per share.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The business had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.14 earnings per share. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $765.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $756.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $737.55.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.3%

Caterpillar stock opened at $723.38 on Wednesday. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $268.27 and a 52 week high of $789.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $336.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.44, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $718.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $618.80.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total transaction of $16,314,812.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 79,953 shares in the company, valued at $57,574,954.83. This trade represents a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 972 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.20, for a total transaction of $742,802.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $629,700.80. This trade represents a 54.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 125,950 shares of company stock valued at $88,577,390. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 7.3% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 17,262 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,237,000 after buying an additional 1,181 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 155.9% during 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 buying an additional 28,773 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $8,893,000. ZEGA Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 149.6% during the third quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC now owns 4,184 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,996,000 after buying an additional 2,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.5% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 165,677 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $79,053,000 after buying an additional 4,010 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Caterpillar

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.