Caterpillar (CAT) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Caterpillar (CAT) closed at $240.99, marking a +1.65% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.74%.
Coming into today, shares of the construction equipment company had gained 2.86% in the past month. In that same time, the Industrial Products sector gained 2.98%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.21%.
On that day, CAT is projected to report earnings of $2.34 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 127.18%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $12.34 billion, up 23.46% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $9.55 per share and revenue of $49.03 billion. These totals would mark changes of +45.58% and +17.45%, respectively, from last year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for CAT. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 18.1% higher. CAT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that CAT has a Forward P/E ratio of 24.83 right now. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 22.64.
Also, we should mention that CAT has a PEG ratio of 2.07. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. CAT's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.43 as of yesterday's close.
The Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 79, putting it in the top 32% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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