Zacks Research Has Weak Forecast for Caterpillar Q2 Earnings

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lowered their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Caterpillar in a research report issued on Wednesday, November 13th. Zacks Research analyst M. Das now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $5.14 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $5.49. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $21.69 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s FY2025 earnings at $20.61 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $5.27 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $5.66 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $5.48 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $22.19 EPS.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $387.36 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $379.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $353.59. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $241.81 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The trade was a 3.65 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,591,000 after buying an additional 6,212 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 25.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 33.7% in the third quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after acquiring an additional 4,182 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.