Caterpillar (CAT) closed at $418.09 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.11% move from the prior day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.27%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.43%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.37%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the construction equipment company had gained 3.49% outpaced the Industrial Products sector's gain of 1.35% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.85%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Caterpillar in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $4.56, signifying a 11.80% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $16.7 billion, up 3.66% from the year-ago period.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $17.91 per share and revenue of $64.76 billion, indicating changes of -18.22% and -0.07%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Caterpillar. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 2.11% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Caterpillar is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
From a valuation perspective, Caterpillar is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 23.61. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 23.61, so one might conclude that Caterpillar is trading at no noticeable deviation comparatively.
It's also important to note that CAT currently trades at a PEG ratio of 2.57. 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. The Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry had an average PEG ratio of 5.09 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 224, putting it in the bottom 10% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow CAT in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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Caterpillar Inc. (CAT): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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