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Caterpillar (CAT) Rises But Trails Market: What Investors Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Caterpillar (CAT - Free Report) closed at $261.43, marking a +0.2% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.46%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.48%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.7%.

The construction equipment company's stock has climbed by 7.97% in the past month, exceeding the Industrial Products sector's gain of 6.59% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.85%.

The upcoming earnings release of Caterpillar will be of great interest to investors. The company is expected to report EPS of $4.76, up 23.32% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $17.26 billion, up 3.97% from the prior-year quarter.

CAT's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $20.58 per share and revenue of $67.25 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +48.7% and +13.16%, respectively.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Caterpillar. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.47% higher. Caterpillar is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Caterpillar is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 12.68. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 9.25 of its industry.

It's also important to note that CAT currently trades at a PEG ratio of 1.06. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The average PEG ratio for the Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry stood at 0.93 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 230, finds itself in the bottom 9% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered 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.

Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.


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