Jefferies Financial Group Increases Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target to $900.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $825.00 to $900.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 15.57% from the company’s current price.

CAT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, CICC Research began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, February 6th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $751.23.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.0%

Caterpillar stock opened at $778.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $730.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $630.00. The company has a market capitalization of $362.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.52. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $282.46 and a 52 week high of $798.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $718.93, for a total transaction of $1,797,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 35,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,222,221.19. The trade was a 6.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Rodney Michael Shurman sold 2,278 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $759.61, for a total transaction of $1,730,391.58. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,117.23. This trade represents a 61.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 125,950 shares of company stock valued at $88,577,390. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares during the period. United Bank raised its position in Caterpillar by 108.5% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 4,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,147 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,551,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 572,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $222,120,000 after purchasing an additional 34,846 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.