Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Caterpillar (CAT) Stock Dips While Market Gains: Key Facts

Read MoreHide Full Article

Caterpillar (CAT - Free Report) closed at $265.03 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.46% move from the prior day. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.81%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.39%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 1.35%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the construction equipment company had lost 4.5% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Industrial Products sector's loss of 8.12% and the S&P 500's loss of 6.19% in that time.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Caterpillar in its forthcoming earnings report. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $4.68, signifying a 18.48% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $16.42 billion, showing a 9.54% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $19.87 per share and a revenue of $67.03 billion, signifying shifts of +43.57% and +12.8%, respectively, from the last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Caterpillar should also be noted by investors. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.29% higher. Caterpillar is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

With respect to valuation, Caterpillar is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 13.53. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 9.82.

We can additionally observe that CAT currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.13. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry was having an average PEG ratio of 0.91.

The Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 12, finds itself in the top 5% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) - free report >>

Published in