Zacks Research Has Negative View of Caterpillar Q2 Earnings

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q2 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Caterpillar in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, November 13th. Zacks Research analyst M. Das now forecasts that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $5.14 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $5.49. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar's current full-year earnings is $21.69 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar's FY2025 earnings at $20.61 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $5.27 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $5.66 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $5.48 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $22.19 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.0 %

CAT stock traded down $3.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $383.64. 1,184,539 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,609,411. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $380.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $353.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $241.81 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 16.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The trade was a 3.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% 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.