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

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its target price for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from $505.00 to $650.00, reflecting a potential upside of 28.68% from the company's previous close and maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Other analysts, including Oppenheimer and Citigroup, have also increased their price targets for Caterpillar, with a consensus average target price of $501.47 and a rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Caterpillar's recent quarterly earnings showed a revenue of $16.57 billion, surpassing consensus estimates, though its earnings per share fell short of expectations at $4.72.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $505.00 to $650.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the industrial products company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would indicate a potential upside of 28.68% from the company's previous close.

CAT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $502.00 price target on Caterpillar and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $501.47.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $505.11 on Tuesday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $511.50. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $444.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $385.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The firm's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc grew its stake in Caterpillar by 49.2% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. 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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