Brokers Issue Forecasts for Caterpillar FY2025 Earnings

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Analysts at Zacks Research upped their FY2025 EPS estimates for Caterpillar in a research note issued on Wednesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $18.01 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $17.44. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $19.86 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s Q4 2025 earnings at $4.09 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $3.89 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $4.86 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $5.92 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $5.79 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $21.96 EPS.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The company had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.17 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CAT. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $596.59.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $12.83 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $560.19. 467,933 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,784,469. The company has a market cap of $262.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.73, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $596.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $501.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $424.34.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total transaction of $4,666,353.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,669,312.16. This represents a 16.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the sale, the insider owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,106,333.24. This represents a 15.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 77,846 shares of company stock worth $38,241,493 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,418,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,656,286,000 after buying an additional 208,196 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,833,836,000 after acquiring an additional 7,279,991 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,165,899,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,386,626,000 after purchasing an additional 264,054 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 20.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,553,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,695,757,000 after purchasing an additional 609,023 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Caterpillar

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.