StockNews.com Downgrades Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) to Buy

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $282.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th. HSBC began coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Monday. They set a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Caterpillar from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group raised their target price on Caterpillar from $279.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $266.80.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.0 %

Caterpillar stock traded down $2.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $250.55. 2,661,397 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,066,492. The stock has a market cap of $127.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $259.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $252.78. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $204.04 and a 1-year high of $293.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $5.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.77. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.69% and a return on equity of 56.29%. The company had revenue of $16.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.95 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 20.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 2,923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.00, for a total transaction of $815,517.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,514,778. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 130,632.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,784,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,343,859,000 after acquiring an additional 9,776,533 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 98,763.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 8,679,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,135,519,000 after acquiring an additional 8,670,430 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,175,255,000. Gateway Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $4,004,000. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $433,134,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar, Inc engages in the manufacture of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. It operates through the following segments: Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy and Transportation, Financial Products, and All Other.