Baird maintained its Caterpillar Inc. [NYSE:CAT] rating to the equivalent of Outperform but changed the price target to $220 from $206, in a research note dated December 30, 2020. That figure represents around a 24.54% premium from where the company’s shares closed on Tuesday. Other analysts also revised their coverage, with Wells Fargo’s analysts upgrading the shares from “an Equal weight” rating to “an Overweight” rating in a research note to investors issued in mid October. In addition, there was an upgrade from Atlantic Equities on August 03, 2020. The rater changed CAT from ”an Underweight” to “a Neutral”.
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Is Caterpillar Inc. [NYSE:CAT] a Good Buy Right Now?
It should be noted that CAT technical indicators for short, intermediate as well as long term progress have placed an overall average of 88% as Buy. The average signal changed from 100% Buy in the last week and compares with 100% Buy in the past month. Data from Caterpillar Inc.’s Trend Spotter indicated that the signals were Weakest. The stock current average is 2.67 million shares in the past 20 days and the short term average signal indicates a 50% Buy. In the last 50 days, the average trading volume was 3.15 million shares while the medium term average advocated for 100% Buy. The average long-term signal stands at 100% Buy and the 100-day average volume stands at 3.18 million shares.
CAT Price Performance
On Wall Street, Caterpillar Inc. [NYSE:CAT] finished Tuesday’s session down -0.96% at $176.65. The stock went up to $179.38 at the same session while its lowest single day price was $175.11. In the last five days, it saw a fall of about -1.95%, Caterpillar Inc. shares gained by almost 19.62% since the beginning of the year. However, the share price has dropped to as low as -3.90% below its one year high. On 12/04/20, the company shares recorded $183.81, the highest single-day price it has got to in the last 52-weeks and a 52-week low was seen on 03/12/20, the same year at $87.50. The company’s shares have inclined by 19.75% in the past year. The 50-day SMA achieved is $171.94 while the 200-day SMA is $140.46. Volume dropped to 1.49 million from 1.51 million in the previous session.
Caterpillar Inc. [CAT] Valuation Measures
Notably, Caterpillar Inc. [CAT] stock cannot be classified as a good candidate in the listing of underestimated low-priced Farm & Heavy Construction Machinery companies to purchase soonest possible with the prevailing 12-month PE ratio of 29.37. The measure means the stock is exchanging at a premium as compared to the 19.45x trailing earnings of the industry. It can be helpful for investors to consider historical price-sales ratio, more specifically, a 2.18 PS value ratio is reported for the last one year of reported earnings. That is higher than the industry average of 0.79 which means CAT serve an unattractive investment opportunity compared to its competitors.
CAT Stock Support And Resistance Levels
On the 24-hour scale, the immediate backing is perceived around 174.71 level, and in case of violation of this particular level, it will cause more drop to 172.78 level. On the upper level, 181.32 is still the key resistance. The stock may increase to the subsequent resistance at 178.98. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) pinned on the 14-day chart is 50.60, implying a neutral technical stance while the MACD stands at -0.90, meaning price will decrease in the next trading period. Percent R indicator moved to 81.27%, implying bearish price movement. Stochastic %K at 31.93% suggest selling the stock.
What is the short interest in Caterpillar Inc.?
Short interest in the Caterpillar Inc. stock has plunged, decreasing by -0.24 million shares to total 7.56 million shares on Dec 14, 2020. The interest had seen shares on Nov 12, 2020 stand at 7.32 million, data from Yahoo Finance shows. The increase of 3.17% suggests the stock saw some increased bearish sentiment. The stock’s days to cover (short ratio) moved to while the shorted shares account for just 1.39% of the overall float for the stock.
Caterpillar Inc.’s Biggest Shareholders: Who Owns Caterpillar Inc. [CAT]?
Filings by The Vanguard Group, Inc. showed that the firm now holds a total of 43,919,704 shares or roughly 8.08% of the outstanding CAT shares. This means their shares have reduced by -430,591 from the 43,919,704 the investor reportedly held in its prior 13-F filing. With the conclusion of the sale, SSgA Funds Management, Inc. updated stake is worth $7,465,748,652. Details in the latest 13F filings reveal that BlackRock Fund Advisors disposed off their -1.69% stake valued at $4,102,153,895 while State Farm Investment Management cut theirs at $3,330,549,296. During the last quarter, BlackRock Fund Advisors liquidated -405,488 of its shares in Caterpillar Inc.. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation T’s holdings currently number 11,260,857 shares at $1989230389.05. According to the firm’s last 13F report, Capital Research & Management Co shares in the company at filing stood at 8,012,892 shares, roughly $1,390,957,922.
CAT Earnings Forecast For The Current Quarter
Caterpillar Inc. [CAT] is expected to report weak earnings results for the quarter ending on Dec 2020. Consensus estimates give the company expected revenues of $11.19B and an earnings per share of $1.46 for Dec 2020. Looking further ahead, the company is expected to report revenue of $10.75B at an EPS of $1.67 for Mar 2021. The estimates represent downside of 9.70% and 35.74% in the company’s revenue and earnings per share, respectively, on a year-on-year basis.
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CAT Earnings Estimates For The Current Year
For the financial year, Caterpillar Inc. [NYSE:CAT] is expected to bring in revenue of $41.56B. The returns are nearly $-12.24 billion lower than the company’s actual revenue recorded in the fiscal year 2019. In terms of EPS for the 2020, estimate put it at 5.44, lower than that of FY19 by -$5.62. Estimates put this year’s earnings growth at -50.80%, 36.00% for the next, and at an annual -2.72% over the next 5-year period. As for sales, forecasts are for a decrease of -22.70% in the current fiscal year and a further 9.70% over the following year.
