Caterpillar (CAT) to Release Earnings on Thursday

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) is expected to announce its earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, January 30th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $5.00 per share and revenue of $16,480,748.34 billion for the quarter. Investors interested in registering for the company's conference call can do so using this link.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. On average, analysts expect Caterpillar to post $22 EPS for the current fiscal year and $22 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.3 %

CAT traded up $9.26 during trading on Thursday, reaching $406.87. The company had a trading volume of 2,586,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,168,918. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $380.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $368.38. The stock has a market cap of $196.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $288.34 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $365.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $380.60.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.