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Caterpillar (CAT) closed the latest trading day at $341.67, indicating a +1.75% change from the previous session's end. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.77%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.42%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 2.28%.
Shares of the construction equipment company witnessed a loss of 1.25% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Industrial Products sector with its loss of 4.51% and the S&P 500's loss of 5.73%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Caterpillar in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $4.32, indicating a 22.86% decline compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $14.65 billion, showing a 7.29% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $19.64 per share and a revenue of $63.29 billion, representing changes of -10.32% and -2.34%, respectively, from the prior year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Caterpillar. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest 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 demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.09% lower. Caterpillar currently has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
In terms of valuation, Caterpillar is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 17.09. This signifies no noticeable deviation in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 17.09 for its industry.
We can also see that CAT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.82. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. As the market closed yesterday, the Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.1.
The Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 208, positioning it in the bottom 18% of all 250+ industries.