Caterpillar (CAT) closed the most recent trading day at $938.39, moving -1.02% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.81%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.27%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.3%.
Shares of the construction equipment company witnessed a gain of 10.74% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Industrial Products sector with its gain of 0.86%, and the S&P 500's gain of 1.13%.
The upcoming earnings release of Caterpillar will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $6.21, reflecting a 31.57% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $19.08 billion, up 15.17% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $24.71 per share and revenue of $76.56 billion, which would represent changes of +29.64% and +13.28%, respectively, from the prior year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Caterpillar. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical 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, there's been a 0.06% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Caterpillar presently features a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Investors should also note Caterpillar's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 38.37. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 15.52, so one might conclude that Caterpillar is trading at a premium comparatively.
We can also see that CAT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.87. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.63.
The Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 72, placing it within the top 30% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge Gains
Quantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.
While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.
Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power .
Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.
See Top Quantum Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).