Caterpillar (CAT) Beats Stock Market Upswing: What Investors Need to Know
Caterpillar (CAT) closed the latest trading day at $340.22, indicating a +1.37% change from the previous session's end. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 1.03%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.34%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.51%.
The construction equipment company's shares have seen an increase of 3.72% over the last month, not keeping up with the Industrial Products sector's gain of 5.61% and outstripping the S&P 500's gain of 3.21%.
The upcoming earnings release of Caterpillar will be of great interest to investors. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $5.08, marking a 3.46% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $15.97 billion, up 0.69% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $21.24 per share and revenue of $67.51 billion. These totals would mark changes of +0.14% and +0.68%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Caterpillar should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 3.03% upward. Caterpillar currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Caterpillar has a Forward P/E ratio of 15.8 right now. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 10.81 for its industry.
We can additionally observe that CAT currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.6. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. Manufacturing - Construction and Mining stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 46, this industry ranks in the top 19% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
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Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
