Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT – Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,330,000 shares, a decrease of 5.2% from the August 31st total of 6,680,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $274.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $283.00 to $323.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $263.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Credit Suisse Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $279.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $267.00.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 2,923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.00, for a total value of $815,517.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,514,778. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 18,294 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.33, for a total transaction of $5,238,121.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,684,931.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 2,923 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.00, for a total transaction of $815,517.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,514,778. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,918 shares of company stock valued at $15,299,870. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Park National Corp OH lifted its position in Caterpillar by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 8,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,443,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $196,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 261.1% during the 2nd quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. CGC Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Caterpillar Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $271.72 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $276.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $245.19. Caterpillar has a one year low of $166.05 and a one year high of $293.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.13.
Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $5.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.57 by $0.98. Caterpillar had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 55.93%. The firm had revenue of $17.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
About Caterpillar
Caterpillar, Inc engages in the manufacture of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. It operates through the following segments: Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy and Transportation, Financial Products, and All Other.