Erste Group Bank Forecasts Higher Earnings for Caterpillar

Posted by Geri Gentry on Aug 11th, 2026

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT – Free Report) – Equities researchers at Erste Group Bank lifted their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Caterpillar in a report issued on Wednesday, August 5th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the industrial products company will earn $24.78 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $24.56. Erste Group Bank has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $26.30 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s FY2027 earnings at $31.18 EPS.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.22 by $1.95. The company had revenue of $20.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.34 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.51% and a return on equity of 55.53%. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.72 earnings per share.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on CAT. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,118.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $877.00 to $897.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Caterpillar from $845.00 to $882.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $995.52.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Caterpillar

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $836.29 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $405.46 and a 12 month high of $1,073.46. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $920.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $821.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $384.42 billion, a PE ratio of 35.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,572,681,000 after buying an additional 442,164 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $40,457,153,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Caterpillar by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,388,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,273,039,000 after purchasing an additional 385,204 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,072,572,000 after purchasing an additional 94,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,438,408,000 after purchasing an additional 54,069 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total value of $11,444,205.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 49,825 shares in the company, valued at $45,236,615.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 360 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $906.00, for a total value of $326,160.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 530 shares in the company, valued at $480,180. This trade represents a 40.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 19,161 shares of company stock valued at $17,407,424. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.06%.

About Caterpillar

(Get Free Report)

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.