Erste Group Bank Lifts Earnings Estimates for Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Stock analysts at Erste Group Bank upped their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Caterpillar in a note issued to investors on Thursday, August 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $27.50 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $24.78. Erste Group Bank currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $27.14 per share.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.22 by $1.95. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 55.53% and a net margin of 14.51%.The company had revenue of $20.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.72 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CAT. Truist Financial set a $980.00 target price on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $1,020.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $900.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $850.00 to $1,100.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $1,002.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $995.52.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $797.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $889.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $838.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $410.52 and a twelve month high of $1,073.46. The company has a market capitalization of $366.69 billion, a PE ratio of 34.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.60.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Caterpillar by 105,696.1% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 747,331,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $795,833,752,000 after buying an additional 746,625,522 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $40,457,153,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,388,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,273,039,000 after acquiring an additional 385,204 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,072,572,000 after acquiring an additional 94,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,438,408,000 after purchasing an additional 54,069 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 28.06%.

More Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: July durable-goods orders rose 1.1%, suggesting a manufacturing rebound that could support demand for Caterpillar’s construction, mining and industrial equipment. CAT was identified as one of several industrial stocks positioned to benefit. 4 Industrial Stocks to Grab on Robust Jump in Durable Goods Orders
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank reportedly expects stronger earnings for Caterpillar, adding to the constructive analyst outlook surrounding the company. Erste Group Bank Predicts Stronger Earnings for Caterpillar
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar’s power-generation business is benefiting from rising electricity demand tied to data centers and artificial intelligence. Recent coverage points to a first-ever quarterly sales total above $20 billion and identifies power generation as an increasingly important growth engine. Forget the Industry Labels: Chevron and Caterpillar Are Both Betting on the AI Power Boom
• Positive Sentiment: The company is applying its autonomous-mining expertise to industrial AI deployment, including field-support tools such as the Cat AI Assistant. Caterpillar also committed $100 million to AI and robotics workforce training, which could improve productivity and strengthen its technology positioning. Caterpillar Commits $100 Million to AI and Robotics Training
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street’s average brokerage recommendation remains bullish, but the coverage notes that sell-side ratings are often overly optimistic and may have limited predictive value for CAT’s performance. Is Caterpillar a Buy as Wall Street Analysts Look Optimistic?
• Negative Sentiment: At a high earnings multiple, Caterpillar is increasingly being valued like a technology-growth company. That raises the risk of pressure on the stock if AI-related growth, power-equipment demand or earnings forecasts fail to exceed expectations. How AI Power Demand Transformed Caterpillar into a High-Multiple Tech Play

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.