Evercore ISI Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Evercore ISI from $375.00 to $373.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "in-line" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Evercore ISI's target price indicates a potential upside of 5.49% from the company's previous close.

CAT has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $375.33.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of CAT stock opened at $353.60 on Monday. Caterpillar has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $317.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $353.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $166.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

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.

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