Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.16 EPS

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16), Briefing.com reports. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:CAT traded down $4.39 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $374.85. The stock had a trading volume of 657,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,620,225. The business’s 50 day moving average is $371.10 and its 200-day moving average is $351.14. The company has a market cap of $181.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $403.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.68%.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $358.19.

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.