Caterpillar (CAT) Beats Stock Market Upswing: What Investors Need to Know – March 1, 2024
In the latest market close, Caterpillar (CAT – Free Report) reached $336.70, with a +0.82% movement compared to the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500’s daily gain of 0.8%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.23%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.14%.
Shares of the construction equipment company witnessed a gain of 8.54% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Industrial Products sector with its gain of 7.89% and the S&P 500’s gain of 5.2%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Caterpillar in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $5.08, showcasing a 3.46% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $15.97 billion, reflecting a 0.69% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $21.24 per share and revenue of $67.51 billion, which would represent changes of +0.14% and +0.68%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Caterpillar. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company’s business outlook.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional 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 last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 3.46% higher. Currently, Caterpillar is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Caterpillar is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 15.73. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 10.61, which means Caterpillar is trading at a premium to the group.
We can additionally observe that CAT currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.59. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock’s expected earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday’s trading, the Manufacturing – Construction and Mining industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.96.
The Manufacturing – Construction and Mining industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 47, which puts it in the top 19% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks 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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