Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $132.84, but opened at $131.91. Caterpillar shares last traded at $133.73, with a volume of 2,816,019 shares changing hands.
The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $3.12 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $14.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 43.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.97 EPS.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.72%.
Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Cue Biopharma in a research note on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. Credit Suisse Group set a GBX 3,090 ($40.38) price target on shares of Royal Dutch Shell and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of GasLog Partners LP Unit from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Atlantic Securities lowered shares of W W Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.72.
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,022,665 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $890,658,000 after purchasing an additional 321,277 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 31.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 6,243,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $958,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496,100 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $733,859,000. Harris Associates L P boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 3,529,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $448,479,000 after purchasing an additional 987,103 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,794,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $378,688,000 after purchasing an additional 314,442 shares during the period. 65.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.54.
About Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT)
Caterpillar, Inc engages in the manufacture of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. It operates through the following segments: Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy and Transportation, Financial Products, and All Other.