Zacks Research Predicts Increased Earnings for Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) - Research analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Caterpillar in a note issued to investors on Thursday, April 3rd. Zacks Research analyst M. Das now expects that the industrial products company will earn $4.69 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $4.62. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar's current full-year earnings is $19.86 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar's Q2 2026 earnings at $5.25 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $5.48 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $5.74 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $21.16 EPS.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America cut their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two equities 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $373.20.

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Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $4.19 during trading on Monday, hitting $293.35. 3,197,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,625,986. The company has a market capitalization of $140.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $333.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $367.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,980,629,000 after buying an additional 284,366 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,790,841,000 after acquiring an additional 236,315 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,294,505,000 after purchasing an additional 129,143 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,184,364,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

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.