The stock of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) increased by $4.23 on Tuesday to at $279.02, up 1.54 percent. The last five days have seen an average of 1,351,145 shares of common stock traded. 12 times new highs were reached in the current year, with a gain of $39.62. The average number of shares traded over the last 20 days was 2,540,551, while the average volume over the last 50 days totaled 2,703,911.
CAT stock appreciated 5.22% since last month. On 07/31/23, the company’s shares reached a one-month low of $261.66. The stock touched a high of $293.88 on 08/02/23, after rallying from a low of $160.60 in 52 weeks. The price of CAT stock has risen by 16.47% or $39.62 this year, reaching a new high 12 times. Still, the stock price is down -5.06% from the 52-week high.
Insider Transactions
CAT stock investors should be aware that Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) stock had its last reported insider trading activity 20 days ago on Aug 09. On Aug 09, Chief Human Resources Officer Johnson Cheryl H sold 18,294 shares at $286.33 each. This transaction resulted in the insider making $5,238,129. On Aug 03, Creed Joseph E sold 7,286 shares at a price of US$285.25. After the transaction, the insider now owns 0 shares. Group President De Lange Bob had earlier sold 20,000 shares on Aug 01 for $275.00 a share. The transaction was completed for $5,500,000.
Valuation Metrics
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) has a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 17.36. Beta for the stock is 1.11. There are also a few other valuation ratios worth considering, including the trailing price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 2.17, the price-to-book (PB) ratio of 7.85, and the price-to-cash flow ratio of 19.37.
Company paid $1.30 per share in dividends, an increase of 8.33% from $1.20 last year. A $0.10 dividend increase was reported on Wednesday June 14 2023.
Financial Health
For the three months ended June 29, Caterpillar Inc.’s quick ratio was 0.80, while its current ratio was 1.30, indicating its inability to pay off its debt. The company’s long-term debt to equity ratio for the quarter ending June 29 is 1.26, and the total debt to equity ratio is 2.07. As far as profitability goes, gross margin for the trailing twelve months is 34.00% percent. Caterpillar Inc.’s EBITDA margin for the year ended June 29 was 19.09%, whereas its operating margin stood at 16.20% for the same period. Based on annual data, it had gross profit of $18.08 billion and revenue of $59.43 billion.
Investors will also look at the performance of the company’s management in order to determine the potential profitability of their investment. CAT’s return on assets (ROA) during the last 12 months has been 10.10%. There was a 11.00% return on investment (ROI) in the past year. In the meantime, the return on equity (ROE) for the last 12 months was 49.30%.
Earnings Surprise
According to Caterpillar Inc.’s quarterly financial report for the quarter that ended June 29. A higher net income was reported in the quarter under review than the previous quarter. Net income for the quarter came in at $17.32 billion, while revenues rose by 17.73% to $15.86 billion. It was predicted that Caterpillar Inc.’s quarterly earnings would be $5.55, but it ended up being $4.58, beating the consensus by 21.20%. EBITDA was $4.44 billion for the quarter. Equity owned by shareholders amounts to $510.14 million.
Technical Picture
Here’s a quick look at Caterpillar Inc.’s (CAT) price momentum from a technical perspective. As of 28 August, the RSI 9-day stood at 60.03%, suggesting the stock is Neutral, with a 15.46% historical volatility rate.
The stochastic %K and %D were 35.58% and 22.90% respectively, while the average true range (ATR) was 5.66. Based on the 14-day stochastic reading of 55.04%, the RSI (14) reading is 59.43%. On the 9-day MACD Oscillator, the stock is at 2.09, and the 14-day reading is at -0.65.
Analyst Ratings
In a note to investors, Citigroup maintained its a Neutral rating on Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT). However, the firm raised their price target to $270, indicating a possible decrease of -16.26% in the stock price. Analysts have assigned Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) an Overweight rating. CAT is a stock that is recommended for selling by 2 brokerage firms, while 12 companies recommend holding. The stock is underweighted by 1 analyst. Among the analysts who rate the stock, 0 rates it overweight and 11 others recommend it as a buy.
What is CAT’s price target for the next 12 months?
The current consensus forecast for the stock is between $175.00 and $364.00, with a median target price of $295.00. In analyzing these forecasts, the average price target given by analysts for Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) is $290.67.
