Oppenheimer Issues Positive Forecast for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price

by · The Markets Daily

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Free Report) had its price target raised by Oppenheimer from $729.00 to $817.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on CAT. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $678.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $785.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $677.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $735.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $724.81.

Read Our Latest Report on CAT

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $24.77 during trading on Friday, hitting $681.31. The company had a trading volume of 3,558,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,979,419. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $681.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $574.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $317.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.44. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $789.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.14 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 972 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.20, for a total value of $742,802.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 824 shares in the company, valued at $629,700.80. The trade was a 54.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Rodney Michael Shurman sold 2,278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $759.61, for a total transaction of $1,730,391.58. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,117.23. The trade was a 61.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 135,950 shares of company stock worth $94,327,990 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 220.0% in the fourth quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Key Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Analyst price‑target upgrades from Jefferies and Oppenheimer lift longer‑term outlooks — Jefferies raised its target to $825 and Oppenheimer to $817, both keeping buy/outperform views, signaling near‑20% upside versus current levels. Jefferies Adjusts Price Target
  • Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain supportive: Caterpillar beat revenue and EPS expectations in its last report (strong margins and revenue growth), which underpins analyst bullishness and medium‑term earnings expectations. Analyst Upgrade Coverage
  • Neutral Sentiment: CEO Joseph Creed sold 2,500 shares (filed with the SEC), a small reduction in insider holdings that may be interpreted as routine liquidity rather than a signal of deteriorating fundamentals. SEC Filing
  • Neutral Sentiment: Positive PR and brand buzz from a viral AI image and Caterpillar’s real pickup concept give the company free publicity and may support equipment‑brand equity, but have limited immediate revenue impact. Caterpillar Built a Yellow Pickup
  • Negative Sentiment: Large intraday losses in CAT helped drive sharp Dow declines and reflect heavy profit‑taking and macro risk sentiment; that market stress is the main reason the stock is down today. Dow Falls Coverage
  • Negative Sentiment: Critical commentary on valuation labels Caterpillar as a high‑quality but highly valued cyclical, which could amplify downside if macro or industrial demand weakens. Valuation Critique
  • Negative Sentiment: Market coverage noting the stock’s day‑over‑day dip highlights short‑term momentum weakness and heavier intraday volume, contributing to negative price action. Why CAT Dipped

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.

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