Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT – Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,800,000 shares, a growth of 48.3% from the October 31st total of 6,610,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAT. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 272.4% during the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 730.8% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $183.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Credit Suisse Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $279.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $274.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $266.80.
Caterpillar Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $248.83. 1,050,880 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,031,691. The company has a market cap of $126.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $254.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $254.49. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $204.04 and a 52 week high of $293.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.92.
Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $5.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.77. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.29% and a net margin of 13.69%. The company had revenue of $16.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 20.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Caterpillar Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.46%.
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 the United States and internationally. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track and multi-terrain, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.