Zacks Research Has Weak Outlook for Caterpillar Q1 Earnings

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for shares of Caterpillar in a research note issued to investors on Monday, May 19th. Zacks Research analyst M. Das now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $4.58 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $4.60. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $19.86 per share.

CAT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $396.00 price objective (up previously from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $345.03 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $318.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $353.24. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. West Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $230,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,414,000 after buying an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $805,000 after buying an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $2,090,000. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 34,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,637,000 after buying an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

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.