Q1 EPS Estimates for Caterpillar Lowered by Zacks Research

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Caterpillar in a research note issued on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings of $4.41 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $4.46. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $19.86 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s Q2 2027 earnings at $6.13 EPS.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.14 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CAT. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on Caterpillar from $735.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. 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 note on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Caterpillar from $756.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $737.55.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $1.52 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $719.72. The stock had a trading volume of 631,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,790,198. The firm has a market cap of $334.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $268.27 and a 12 month high of $789.81. The business’s 50-day moving average is $717.23 and its 200 day moving average is $616.99.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,572,681,000 after purchasing an additional 442,164 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,388,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,273,039,000 after purchasing an additional 385,204 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,072,572,000 after purchasing an additional 94,524 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,438,408,000 after purchasing an additional 54,069 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,860,457,000 after purchasing an additional 928,974 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $718.93, for a total transaction of $1,797,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 35,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,222,221.19. This trade represents a 6.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 10,671 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.45, for a total value of $7,261,081.95. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,151 shares in the company, valued at $28,001,197.95. This trade represents a 20.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 125,950 shares of company stock valued at $88,577,390. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

About Caterpillar

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.