Zacks Research Has Weak Outlook for Caterpillar Q3 Earnings

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Caterpillar in a research note issued to investors on Monday, September 1st. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings of $4.41 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $4.47. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $19.86 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s FY2025 earnings at $17.44 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $5.15 EPS and Q2 2027 earnings at $5.30 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on CAT. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Bank of America upped their price target on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $457.20.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $420.48 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $416.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $361.91. The firm has a market cap of $196.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.41. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $441.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.99 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Victrix Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $2,090,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,089,798,000 after acquiring an additional 15,347 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $579,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 18.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 191,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,202,000 after acquiring an additional 30,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.4% in the first quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 22,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,483,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,653 shares of company stock worth $8,943,642 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 30.72%.

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.