Q2 EPS Estimates for Caterpillar Boosted by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research increased Caterpillar's Q2 2026 earnings per share estimate to $5.23, up from the previous estimate of $5.19, while the consensus estimate for full-year earnings is $19.86 per share.
• Several analysts have upgraded Caterpillar's stock ratings, with Truist Financial raising its price target from $414.00 to $507.00 and Citigroup increasing its target from $460.00 to $500.00.
• Caterpillar's shares opened at $450.28 recently and the company has a market capitalization of $210.95 billion, with a 52-week high of $452.34 and a low of $267.30.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Zacks Research upped their Q2 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Caterpillar in a report released on Wednesday, September 17th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the industrial products company will earn $5.23 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $5.19. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar's current full-year earnings is $19.86 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar's Q2 2027 earnings at $5.62 EPS.

CAT has been the subject of several other research reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $495.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Melius raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $462.87.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $4.32 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $470.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,285,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,750,058. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $472.12. The firm's 50 day moving average is $425.21 and its 200-day moving average is $369.54.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.57 billion for 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%.Caterpillar's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.99 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.3% in the second quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 1,429 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $555,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 58.6% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 31,347 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,169,000 after acquiring an additional 11,587 shares during the period. Milestones Private Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $330,000. NWF Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $778,000. Finally, Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $205,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business's 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 sale, the director directly owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,653 shares of company stock worth $8,943,642. Insiders own 0.33% 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.