Caterpillar (CAT) Stock Forecast & Price Target

$820.66 +15.41 (+1.91%)

Closing price 09/25/2026 03:59 PM Eastern

Extended Trading

$821.47 +0.81 (+0.10%)

As of 09/25/2026 07:58 PM Eastern

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Caterpillar - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2026)

Consensus Rating

Moderate Buy

Based on 27 Analyst Ratings

Sell
0

Hold
11

Buy
16

Based on 27 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Caterpillar in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy." Out of the 27 analysts, 11 have given a hold rating, 15 have given a buy rating, and 1 has given a strong buy rating for CAT.

Consensus Price Target

$994.38
21.17% Upside

According to the 27 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Caterpillar, the average price target is $994.38. The highest price target for CAT is $1,225.00, while the lowest price target for CAT is $750.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 21.17% from the current price of $820.66.

MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.

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CAT Analyst Ratings Over Time

Type	Current Forecast 9/26/25 to 9/26/26	1 Month Ago 8/27/25 to 8/27/26	3 Months Ago 6/28/25 to 6/28/26	1 Year Ago 9/26/24 to 9/26/25
Strong Buy	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy	15 Buy rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	16 Buy rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)
Hold	11 Hold rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)
Sell	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target	$994.38	$995.52	$941.45	$461.79
Forecasted Upside	21.17% Upside	21.70% Upside	-5.55% Downside	-0.92% Downside
Consensus Rating	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy

CAT Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.

CAT Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.

Caterpillar Stock vs. The Competition

Type	Caterpillar	Industrials Companies	Broader Market
Consensus Rating Score	2.63	2.30	2.53
Consensus Rating	Moderate Buy	Hold	Moderate Buy
Predicted Upside	21.17% Upside	103.30% Upside	19.20% Upside
News Sentiment Rating	Positive News See Recent CAT News	Positive News	Positive News

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

Rating

Upside/Downside

Action

Time Frame

Start Date

End Date

Show

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Date	Brokerage	Analyst	Action	Rating	Price Target	Report Date Upside/Downside
9/18/2026	President Capital Not Rated		Initiated Coverage	Buy	$999.00	+23.01%
9/14/2026	Citigroup 4 of 5 stars	Kyle Menges 5 of 5 stars	Reiterated Rating	Buy
9/10/2026	Needham & Company LLC 4 of 5 stars		Set Target		$980.00	+20.04%
9/10/2026	Freedom Broker Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Sergey Glinyanov Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Upgrade	Hold ➝ Buy	$980.00	+20.04%
8/19/2026	Weiss Ratings Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Upgrade	Buy (B-) ➝ Buy (B)
8/12/2026	Zacks Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Upgrade	Hold ➝ Strong-Buy
8/6/2026	DA Davidson Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Michael Shlisky Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Neutral	$845.00 ➝ $882.00	+1.45%
8/6/2026	Barclays Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Adam Seiden Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Equal Weight	$800.00 ➝ $900.00	+3.21%
8/5/2026	Sanford C. Bernstein Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Chad Dillard Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Market Perform	$1,002.00	+12.83%
8/5/2026	UBS Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Steven Fisher Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Neutral	$900.00 ➝ $925.00	+4.16%
Get the Latest News and Ratings for CAT and Related Stocks Enter your email address below to receive the latest news and analysts' ratings for Caterpillar and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter.
8/5/2026	Truist Financial Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Jamie Cook Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Set Target		$980.00	+10.35%
8/5/2026	Robert W. Baird Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Mircea Dobre Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Set Target		$970.00	+10.14%
8/5/2026	Royal Bank Of Canada Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Sabahat Khan Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Sector Perform	$877.00 ➝ $897.00	+1.93%
8/4/2026	Oppenheimer Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Kristen Owen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Outperform	$1,118.00	+27.05%
7/27/2026	Erste Group Bank Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Downgrade	Buy ➝ Hold
6/23/2026	Wells Fargo & Company Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Jerry Revich Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Overweight	$1,050.00 ➝ $1,155.00	+13.20%
6/17/2026	JPMorgan Chase & Co. Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Tami Zakaria Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Overweight	$1,125.00 ➝ $1,165.00	+21.34%
5/14/2026	Rothschild & Co Redburn Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Neutral	$700.00 ➝ $950.00	+4.24%
5/11/2026	Evercore Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Outperform	$1,103.00	+22.19%
5/5/2026	HSBC Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target		$850.00 ➝ $1,100.00	+21.60%
5/5/2026	Argus Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	John Eade Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Buy	$820.00 ➝ $990.00	+13.18%
5/1/2026	Morgan Stanley Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Angel Castillo Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Set Target	Underweight ➝ Equal Weight	$430.00 ➝ $915.00	+2.70%
5/1/2026	Bank of America Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Buy	$930.00 ➝ $989.00	+11.11%
5/1/2026	Jefferies Financial Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Buy	$900.00 ➝ $1,045.00	+17.30%
5/1/2026	Daiwa Securities Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Neutral	$790.00 ➝ $900.00	+1.02%
3/31/2026	Wolfe Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Outperform	$670.00 ➝ $750.00	+2.55%
3/10/2026	Williams Trading Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Michael Feniger Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Set Target		$825.00	+15.10%
2/6/2026	CICC Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Initiated Coverage	Outperform
1/7/2026	Raymond James Financial Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Market Perform
7/9/2025	Melius Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Upgrade	Hold ➝ Buy	$500.00	+26.83%
2/3/2025	Wedbush Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Upgrade	Outperform

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Saturday at 07:54 PM ET.

Should I Buy Caterpillar Stock? CAT Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Saturday, September 26, 2026. Please send any questions or comments about these Caterpillar pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Caterpillar
Bull Case

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in Caterpillar Inc.:

Caterpillar Inc. recently partnered with FieldAI to advance physical AI and autonomous robotics, a development that could significantly improve the deployment of intelligent machines across construction and mining sites, strengthening the company's long-term technology narrative and competitive advantage.
The company demonstrated strong financial performance in its most recent quarter, reporting earnings per share of $8.17, which significantly beat the consensus estimate of $6.22, while revenue reached $20.54 billion, exceeding analyst expectations and reflecting a 23.7% year-over-year increase.
Analysts maintain a positive outlook on the stock, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average 12-month price target of $994.38, which suggests substantial upside potential from the current stock price of $820.66.
Recent reports indicate that Caterpillar's remote autonomy technology is moving toward commercial deployment, with three operating sites demonstrating the ability for equipment operators to work outside the cab, providing early evidence of the company's progress in automating heavy machinery operations.
The stock has shown strong momentum, rising 37% year-to-date and outperforming the broader market, as evidenced by its recent price advance to $820.66, reflecting investor confidence in the company's growth trajectory and operational efficiency.

Caterpillar
Bear Case

Investors should be bearish about investing in Caterpillar Inc. for these reasons:

Caterpillar Inc. trades at a premium valuation of approximately 25.25x forward earnings, which is higher than the sector median of 22.14x, suggesting that investors are paying a considerable premium for the company's growth that may not be fully justified by current earnings power.
Despite strong recent results, the stock has experienced a significant pullback, with a 90-day share price return down 23.18% from its highs, indicating potential volatility and market uncertainty regarding the sustainability of its recent performance.
A substantial portion of the company's $72.1 billion backlog, specifically 40%, will not be recognized as revenue within the next 12 months, which could create a gap between current order books and near-term financial results, potentially affecting short-term earnings expectations.
Recent insider activity has been predominantly negative, with multiple executives, including the CEO and CFO, selling significant numbers of shares in the past few months, which may signal a lack of confidence in the stock's near-term upside from those closest to the company's operations.
Some analysts have recently downgraded their outlook, such as Wall Street Zen lowering its rating from Buy to Hold, reflecting concerns about the company's valuation and the potential for slowing growth in the construction sector.

CAT Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 27 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Caterpillar is $994.38, with a high forecast of $1,225.00 and a low forecast of $750.00.

27 Wall Street equities research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Caterpillar in the last year. There are currently 11 hold ratings, 15 buy ratings and 1 strong buy rating for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street equities research analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" CAT shares.

According to analysts, Caterpillar's stock has a predicted upside of 21.17% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Over the previous 90 days, Caterpillar's stock had 3 upgrades and 3 downgrades by analysts.

Caterpillar has been rated by research analysts at Barclays, Citigroup, DA Davidson, Erste Group Bank, Freedom Broker, Needham & Company LLC, Oppenheimer, President Capital, Robert W. Baird, Royal Bank Of Canada, Sanford C. Bernstein, Truist Financial, UBS Group, Weiss Ratings, and Zacks Research in the past 90 days.

Analysts like Caterpillar more than other "industrials" companies. The consensus rating for Caterpillar is Moderate Buy while the average consensus rating for "industrials" companies is Hold. Learn more on how CAT compares to other companies.

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Brokerages With Caterpillar Recommendations

MarketBeat monitors more than a dozen sources for Caterpillar analyst ratings, with the most recent rating issued on 9/18/2026.

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Caterpillar (CAT) Stock Forecast & Price Target