What is DA Davidson’s Forecast for Caterpillar Q1 Earnings?

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Investment analysts at DA Davidson dropped their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Caterpillar in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson analyst M. Shlisky now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $4.59 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $4.70. DA Davidson currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $325.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $19.86 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s FY2025 earnings at $20.10 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $22.50 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $359.36.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of CAT opened at $296.26 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $323.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $361.84. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $141.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,184,364,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 43,447.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,060,730,000 after buying an additional 1,196,861 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $353,231,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 50,072.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $291,938,000 after buying an additional 803,166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.