Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Short Interest Update

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,850,000 shares, an increase of 21.8% from the January 31st total of 8,090,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,210,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company's stock are sold short.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $9.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $350.97. The company had a trading volume of 3,061,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,503,377. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $363.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $372.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Remove Ads

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $231,686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,437,000 after buying an additional 4,181 shares during the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,084,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,414,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $383.80.

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.