JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has raised its price target for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) stock from $475.00 to $520.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.48% from its previous close.
• Other brokerages, including Melius Research and Barclays, have also increased their price targets and ratings for Caterpillar, with the average target price now at $444.00.
• Caterpillar recently reported earnings of $4.72 per share, missing expectations, and its revenue of $16.57 billion slightly exceeded analyst estimates, showing a 0.7% year-over-year decline.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $475.00 to $520.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the industrial products company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would suggest a potential upside of 21.48% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on CAT. Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $444.00.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE:CAT traded down $6.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $428.04. The stock had a trading volume of 2,630,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,726,095. The company has a market capitalization of $201.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.40. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $441.15. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $389.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $354.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.99 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% in the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $32,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

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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