CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:
CAT shares are sliding today following the company’s Q1 print, with a beat on EPS being overshadowed by a nearly $200M miss on sales. We believe that high expectations were baked into the share price prior to the Q1 release. We trim our target to $335 from $360, 15x our 2025 EPS outlook of $22.35 (in line with the previous forecast; 2024 EPS lifted by $0.47 to $21.88), slightly below CAT’s long-term historical forward average. CAT posted Q1 operating EPS of $5.60 (+14% Y/Y), $0.47 above consensus. Revenues were roughly flat Y/Y, with falling volumes in Construction and Resource industries being offset by pricing realization. Energy & Transportation was once again a bright spot, contributing $433M in sales growth. Earnings expansion was largely driven by gains in profitability, with adjusted operating margin widening 110 bps to 22.2%. We believe that a continued focus on margin quality can support a valuation multiple near historical levels despite the downshift in revenue growth.