Yahoo Finance Caterpillar (CAT) Ascends While Market Falls: Some Facts to Note
The most recent trading session ended with Caterpillar (CAT) standing at $356.39, reflecting a +0.12% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.28%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.08%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.42%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the construction equipment company had gained 9.4% over the past month. This has outpaced the Industrial Products sector's gain of 5.84% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.67% in that time.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Caterpillar in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is expected to report EPS of $5.10, up 3.87% from the prior-year quarter. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $15.97 billion, reflecting a 0.65% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $21.26 per share and revenue of $67.55 billion, which would represent changes of +0.24% and +0.74%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Caterpillar should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-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 suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.08% upward. Caterpillar presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
With respect to valuation, Caterpillar is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 16.75. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 10.42 of its industry.
One should further note that CAT currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.7. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.
The Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 162, which puts it in the bottom 36% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these 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 Report
