Caterpillar (CAT) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Caterpillar Inc. is a Fortune 500 company that designs, manufactures and markets construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, diesel-electric locomotives and industrial gas turbines. It is the world's largest manufacturer of mining and construction equipment and one of the world's largest manufacturers of diesel and natural gas engines. Caterpillar is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, and operates in more than 180 countries worldwide. 

Caterpillar is well-positioned for long-term growth with a strong balance sheet, a diversified product portfolio and a solid presence in international markets. The company has continued to invest in research and development, intending to "develop innovative products and services that leverage the power of technology to improve customer productivity and reduce costs." Caterpillar has also expanded its presence in Asia, Latin America and other parts of the world, allowing it to capitalize on the growth of developing markets. 

Caterpillar has been a leader in the construction and mining equipment market for many years, offering tractors, excavators, wheel loaders, backhoe loaders, engines, transmissions and more. Caterpillar has invested heavily in its dealer network, providing customers access to its products and services in over 180 countries. 

In addition to its construction and mining equipment business, Caterpillar also has a strong presence in the power systems industry, providing power solutions such as diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. The company's services include parts, repairs and maintenance and financing. Caterpillar is dedicated to providing innovative and efficient power solutions and has invested in research and development to advance their products and services. 

Caterpillar has a long history of financial strength and stability. The company has consistently reported revenue growth and strong profits in recent years. 

Caterpillar is a leader in the construction and mining equipment market, and its presence in the power systems sector provides additional growth opportunities. The company's diversified product portfolio and solid presence in international markets make it well-positioned for long-term growth. The company has a strong balance sheet, a diversified product portfolio and a long history of generating consistent revenue and profits. 

Written by Jeffrey Neal Johnson

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $362.66 to $367.57
• 50-Day Range: $360.37 to $416.97
• 52-Week Range: $276.94 to $418.50
• Volume: 886,018 shs
• Average Volume: 2.55 million shs
• Market Capitalization: $177.46 billion
• P/E Ratio: 17.04
• Dividend Yield: 1.53%
• Price Target: $384.33
• Consensus Rating: Hold

Caterpillar Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Caterpillar scored higher than 90% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 33rd out of 178 stocks in the industrial products sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.1 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Hold

Consensus Rating

Caterpillar has received a consensus rating of Hold. The company's average rating score is 2.18, and is based on 7 buy ratings, 6 hold ratings, and 4 sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Caterpillar has been the subject of 9 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 0.69%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Caterpillar are expected to grow by 0.69% in the coming year, from $21.68 to $21.83 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Caterpillar is 17.04, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 113.11.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Caterpillar is 17.04, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Industrial Products sector average P/E ratio of about 21.05.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Caterpillar has a PEG Ratio of 1.92. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Caterpillar has a P/B Ratio of 9.59. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 5.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.84% of the float of Caterpillar has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Caterpillar has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.9, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Caterpillar has recently decreased by 9.02%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 4.2 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Yield

Caterpillar pays a meaningful dividend of 1.57%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Caterpillar has been increasing its dividend for 30 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Caterpillar is 26.15%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Caterpillar will have a dividend payout ratio of 25.84% next year. This indicates that Caterpillar will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 1.3 / 5
• Environmental Score: -3.18

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.84% of the float of Caterpillar has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Caterpillar has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.9, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Caterpillar has recently decreased by 9.02%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 1.3 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.25

News Sentiment

Caterpillar has a news sentiment score of 0.25. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a lower news sentiment than the 0.61 average news sentiment score of Industrial Products companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 15 news articles for Caterpillar this week, compared to 24 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

Only 148 people have searched for CAT on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -3% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

Only 30 people have added Caterpillar to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -25% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Caterpillar insiders have sold 24,185.54% more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $39,857.00 in company stock and sold $9,679,489.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 0.29% of the stock of Caterpillar is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

70.98% of the stock of Caterpillar is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

CAT Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have CAT shares performed this year?

Caterpillar's stock was trading at $295.67 at the beginning of 2024. Since then, CAT shares have increased by 24.3% and is now trading at $367.57.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here.

How were Caterpillar's earnings last quarter?

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October, 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $0.16. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis.
Read the conference call transcript.

Is Caterpillar doing a stock buyback?

Caterpillar's Board of Directors approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th 2024, which authorizes the company to repurchase $20,000,000,000 in outstanding shares, according to EventVestor. This means that the company could repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Does Caterpillar have any subsidiaries?

The following companies are subsidiaries of Caterpillar: Tangent Energy Solutions, CarbonPoint Solutions, The Weir Group PLC, CAT Robotics, Downer Freight Rail, ECM S.p.A., Yard Club, and more.

Who are Caterpillar's major shareholders?

Top institutional shareholders of Caterpillar include State Street Corp (7.54%), Geode Capital Management LLC (2.12%), Fisher Asset Management LLC (1.85%) and FMR LLC (1.01%). Insiders that own company stock include Lange Bob De, Andrew R J Bonfield, Anthony D Fassino, Cheryl H Johnson, Suzette M Long, Denise C Johnson, David Maclennan, Daniel M Dickinson, Gerald Johnson, Gary Michael Marvel and Joseph E Creed.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Caterpillar?

Shares of CAT stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

What other stocks do shareholders of Caterpillar own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Caterpillar investors own include BlackRock (BLK), Chevron (CVX), Broadcom (AVGO), UnitedHealth Group (UNH), The Goldman Sachs Group (GS), ServiceNow (NOW) and NVIDIA (NVDA).

Company Calendar

• Ex-Dividend for 11/20 Dividend: 10/21/2024
• Last Earnings: 10/30/2024
• Dividend Payable: 11/20/2024
• Today: 12/24/2024
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2024
• Ex-Dividend for 2/20 Dividend: 1/21/2025
• Dividend Payable: 2/20/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Industrial Products
• Industry: Construction machinery
• Sub-Industry: Construction & Farm Machinery & Heavy Trucks
• Current Symbol: NYSE:CAT
• CUSIP: 14912310
• CIK: 18230
• Web: www.caterpillar.com
• Phone: (972) 891-7700
• Fax: 309-675-6620
• Employees: 113,200
• Year Founded: 1925

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: $384.33
• High Stock Price Target: $515.00
• Low Stock Price Target: $295.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +4.6%
• Consensus Rating: Hold
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.18
• Research Coverage: 17 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): $21.57
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 17.04
• Forward P/E Ratio: 16.95
• P/E Growth: 1.92
• Net Income: $10.34 billion
• Net Margins: 16.26%
• Pretax Margin: 20.38%
• Return on Equity: 59.09%
• Return on Assets: 12.77%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.33
• Current Ratio: 1.40
• Quick Ratio: 0.86

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $65.66 billion
• Price / Sales: 2.70
• Cash Flow: $24.20 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 15.19
• Book Value: $38.31 per share
• Price / Book: 9.59

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 482,802,000
• Free Float: 481,402,000
• Market Cap: $177.46 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.10