Caterpillar (CAT) Stock Forecast & Price Target

$360.75 -2.25 (-0.62%)

As of 01/8/2025 03:58 PM Eastern

Caterpillar - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2025)

MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.

Consensus Rating

Hold

Based on 17 Analyst Ratings

Sell
4

Hold
6

Buy
7

Based on 17 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Caterpillar in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold." Out of the 17 analysts, 4 have given a sell rating, 6 have given a hold rating, and 7 have given a buy rating for CAT.

Consensus Price Target

$384.33
6.54% Upside

According to the 17 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Caterpillar, the average price target is $384.33. The highest price target for CAT is $515.00, while the lowest price target for CAT is $295.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 6.54% from the current price of $360.75.

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CAT Analyst Ratings Over Time

Type	Current Forecast 1/10/24 to 1/9/25	1 Month Ago 12/11/23 to 12/10/24	3 Months Ago 10/12/23 to 10/11/24	1 Year Ago 1/10/23 to 1/10/24
Strong Buy	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy	7 Buy rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)
Hold	6 Hold rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)
Sell	4 Sell rating(s)	4 Sell rating(s)	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target	$384.33	$374.69	$347.56	$269.79
Forecasted Upside	6.54% Upside	-3.54% Downside	-13.58% Downside	-8.04% Downside
Consensus Rating	Hold	Hold	Hold	Hold

CAT Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.

CAT Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.

Caterpillar Stock vs. The Competition

Type	Caterpillar	Industrial Products Companies	S&P 500
Consensus Rating Score	2.18	2.58	2.52
Consensus Rating	Hold	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy
Predicted Upside	6.54% Upside	46.78% Upside	14.87% Upside
News Sentiment Rating	Neutral News See Recent CAT News	Positive News	Positive News

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

Rating

Upside/Downside

Action

Time Frame

Start Date

End Date

Show

Export to Excel

Date	Brokerage	Analyst Name	Action	Rating	Price Target	Upside/Downside on Report Date
12/19/2024	Truist Financial 2 of 5 stars		Boost Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$454.00 ➝ $471.00	+27.98%
12/9/2024	Citigroup 3 of 5 stars	K. Menges Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$435.00 ➝ $460.00	+14.87%
12/9/2024	JPMorgan Chase & Co. 3 of 5 stars		Boost Target	Overweight ➝ Overweight	$500.00 ➝ $515.00	+28.80%
12/6/2024	Jefferies Financial Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$455.00 ➝ $475.00	+20.26%
11/13/2024	Evercore ISI Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	D. Raso Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Downgrade	In-Line ➝ Underperform	$321.00 ➝ $365.00	-7.14%
11/4/2024	UBS Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Sell ➝ Sell	$285.00 ➝ $295.00	-22.45%
Get the Latest News and Ratings for CAT and Related Stocks Enter your email address below to receive the latest news and analysts' ratings for Caterpillar and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter.
10/31/2024	Robert W. Baird Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Underperform ➝ Underperform	$299.00 ➝ $300.00	-20.89%
10/14/2024	Morgan Stanley Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Downgrade	Equal Weight ➝ Underweight	$349.00 ➝ $332.00	-17.42%
9/30/2024	Bank of America Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$376.00 ➝ $434.00	+11.32%
8/7/2024	Barclays Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Equal Weight ➝ Equal Weight	$315.00 ➝ $335.00	+1.78%
6/28/2024	Raymond James Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Initiated Coverage	Market Perform
4/30/2024	HSBC Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Hold ➝ Hold	$330.00 ➝ $360.00	+6.90%
4/26/2024	TD Cowen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$338.00 ➝ $340.00	+0.52%
4/26/2024	Stifel Nicolaus Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Downgrade	Buy ➝ Hold	$293.00 ➝ $350.00	+3.48%
4/18/2024	Oppenheimer Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Market Perform ➝ Market Perform
4/16/2024	The Goldman Sachs Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$357.00 ➝ $408.00	+13.10%
2/6/2024	Wells Fargo & Company Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Equal Weight ➝ Equal Weight	$290.00 ➝ $325.00	+1.36%
12/21/2023	Sanford C. Bernstein Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Market Perform ➝ Market Perform	$216.00 ➝ $245.00	-14.86%
11/8/2023	Tigress Financial Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$282.00 ➝ $295.00	+24.88%
8/2/2023	Credit Suisse Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Outperform ➝ Outperform	$279.00 ➝ $334.00	+15.76%
6/21/2023	DA Davidson Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	M. Shlisky Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Initiated Coverage	Neutral	$263.00	+8.91%
4/12/2023	Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Hold	$228.00 ➝ $225.00	+1.99%
2/7/2023	BMO Capital Markets Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target		$210.00 ➝ $230.00	-7.53%
1/31/2023	William Blair Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	L. De. Maria Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Market Perform

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Thursday at 11:04 PM ET.

Should I Buy Caterpillar Stock? CAT Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Friday, December 27, 2024. Please send any questions or comments about these Caterpillar pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Caterpillar
Bull Case

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in Caterpillar Inc.:

Recent price target upgrades from multiple analysts, including Citigroup and Jefferies Financial Group, indicate strong confidence in Caterpillar Inc.'s growth potential, with targets reaching as high as $475.00.
The current stock price of $388.39 reflects a significant market capitalization of $187.51 billion, suggesting a robust position in the industrial sector.
Caterpillar Inc. reported a net margin of 16.26% in its latest quarterly earnings, showcasing effective cost management and profitability.
Analysts have assigned a consensus rating of "Hold," indicating that while there may be some caution, the overall sentiment remains stable, which can be a sign of resilience in the stock.
Insider selling of 23,868 shares, while notable, represents only 0.29% of total ownership, suggesting that insiders still maintain a significant stake in the company, which can be a positive indicator of their confidence in future performance.

Caterpillar
Bear Case

Investors should be bearish about investing in Caterpillar Inc. for these reasons:

The company missed earnings expectations in its latest quarterly report, with earnings per share of $5.17 falling short of the $5.33 consensus, which may raise concerns about future performance.
Revenue declined by 4.2% year-over-year, indicating potential challenges in maintaining sales growth in a competitive market.
Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, which could signal a lack of confidence among some market experts regarding the company's short-term prospects.
Recent insider sales represent a 36.47% decrease in their position, which might suggest that insiders are less optimistic about the company's near-term outlook.
Market volatility, as indicated by a beta of 1.10, suggests that Caterpillar Inc.'s stock may experience fluctuations that could impact investor returns.

CAT Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

: According to the research reports of 17 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Caterpillar is $384.33, with a high forecast of $515.00 and a low forecast of $295.00.
: 17 Wall Street equities research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Caterpillar in the last twelve months. There are currently 4 sell ratings, 6 hold ratings and 7 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street equities research analysts is that investors should "hold" CAT shares. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in CAT, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares.
: According to analysts, Caterpillar's stock has a predicted upside of 6.54% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.
: Over the previous 90 days, Caterpillar's stock had 2 downgrades by analysts.
: Caterpillar has been rated by research analysts at Citigroup, Evercore ISI, Jefferies Financial Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley, Robert W. Baird, Truist Financial, and UBS Group in the past 90 days.
: Analysts like Caterpillar less than other "industrial products" companies. The consensus rating for Caterpillar is Hold while the average consensus rating for "industrial products" companies is Moderate Buy. Learn more on how CAT compares to other companies.

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This page (NYSE:CAT) was last updated on 1/9/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff

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Caterpillar (CAT) Stock Forecast & Price Target