Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,760,000 shares, a drop of 7.8% from the October 31st total of 10,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on CAT. UBS Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% during the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust boosted its position in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.5 %

CAT traded down $1.93 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $397.33. The company had a trading volume of 558,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,575,170. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $392.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $358.40. The stock has a market cap of $191.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $253.78 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 21.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

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.