Caterpillar (CAT) Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market: What Investors Need to Know

Group 1: Stock Performance - Caterpillar's stock closed at $336.71, reflecting a -1.73% change from the previous day, underperforming the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.07% [1] - Over the past month, Caterpillar shares have decreased by 3.02%, which is less than the Industrial Products sector's loss of 4.99% and the S&P 500's loss of 7.03% [1] Group 2: Earnings Expectations - Analysts anticipate Caterpillar will report earnings of$ 4.32 per share, indicating a year-over-year decline of 22.86% [2] - The consensus estimate for revenue is $14.65 billion, representing a 7.29% decrease compared to the same quarter last year [2] - Full-year estimates project earnings of$ 19.64 per share and revenue of $63.29 billion, reflecting year-over-year changes of -10.32% and -2.34%, respectively [3] Group 3: Analyst Forecasts and Rankings - Recent revisions to analyst forecasts are crucial as they reflect near-term business trends and analysts' confidence in the company's performance [4] - The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from 1 (Strong Buy) to 5 (Strong Sell), currently ranks Caterpillar at 4 (Sell) [6] Group 4: Valuation Metrics - Caterpillar has a Forward P/E ratio of 17.44, which is in line with the industry average [7] - The company holds a PEG ratio of 1.85, compared to the Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry's average PEG ratio of 2.1 [8] Group 5: Industry Context - The Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry ranks 185 in the Zacks Industry Rank, placing it in the bottom 27% of over 250 industries [9]