Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Raised to $570.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group raised Caterpillar's price target from $500.00 to $570.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.96% from its previous close and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Other firms like Oppenheimer and JPMorgan Chase have also increased their price targets, with Oppenheimer now at $513.00 and JPMorgan at $520.00, showing positive sentiment towards Caterpillar's stock.
• Caterpillar's shares saw a slight decline of 0.4%, trading at $500.19, and the company reported $4.72 earnings per share last quarter, missing estimates by $0.16.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $500.00 to $570.00 in a report released on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective points to a potential upside of 13.96% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on CAT. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $507.00 to $582.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $478.20.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $1.93 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $500.19. The company had a trading volume of 751,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,756,793. The company has a market cap of $234.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.46. The firm's fifty day moving average is $440.73 and its 200-day moving average is $381.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $509.48.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The business had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.99 EPS. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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