Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Raised to $540.00 at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup has raised Caterpillar's price target from $500.00 to $540.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.01% from the current price.
• Several analysts have recommended Caterpillar stock, with two rating it a Strong Buy, eleven a Buy, and five a Hold, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Caterpillar reported a quarterly EPS of $4.72, missing expectations by $0.16, and had a revenue of $16.57 billion, exceeding estimates.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Citigroup from $500.00 to $540.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. Citigroup's price target would indicate a potential upside of 14.41% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $462.87.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.2%

CAT traded up $5.43 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $471.97. 3,179,376 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,433,813. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $426.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $370.38. The company has a market cap of $221.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.41. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $473.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.Caterpillar's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.99 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,653 shares of company stock valued at $8,943,642. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.