Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Baird R W

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Baird R W from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on CAT. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $396.00 price objective (up from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $375.50.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT traded up $3.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $353.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,558,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,641,388. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $166.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $317.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $353.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.