Caterpillar (CAT) Ascends But Remains Behind Market: Some Facts to Note

The latest trading session saw Caterpillar (CAT) ending at $364.20, denoting a +0.11% adjustment from its last day's close. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.55%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.06%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.24%.Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Caterpillar in its upcoming earnings disclosure. On that day, Caterpillar is projected to report earnings of $5 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 4.4%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $16.65 billion, down 2.44% from the year-ago period.Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Caterpillar should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.02% higher within the past month. Currently, Caterpillar is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).With respect to valuation, Caterpillar is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 16.66. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 10.Investors should also note that CAT has a PEG ratio of 1.78 right now. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 4.69 as of yesterday's close.The Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 231, which puts it in the bottom 8% of all 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.Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant 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 ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks