Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.17 EPS

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17, Zacks reports. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $375.03. The stock had a trading volume of 559,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,223,851. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar has a one year low of $299.93 and a one year high of $418.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $381.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $370.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $382.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This represents a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,900 shares of company stock worth $13,111,601 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.