Robert W. Baird Upgrades Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) to Outperform

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) was upgraded by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $395.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $309.00. Robert W. Baird’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 12.91% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.83.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $349.83 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $317.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $354.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $164.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was 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 insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 13,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,488,000 after purchasing an additional 3,411 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 22,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,582,000 after purchasing an additional 4,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Warwick Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,167 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.