Why Caterpillar Stock Edged Past the Market Today

One day after it published earnings that pleased investors, Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) got some love from analysts, too. Wednesday saw a clutch of them raise their price targets on the sturdy industrial stock, moves that helped keep its share price more or less level while the S&P 500 index closed nearly 0.8% lower.

Bottom-line blast

Caterpillar crushed analyst profitability estimates for its second quarter, delivering a per-share net profit of $5.99, well ahead of the consensus prognosticator expectation of $5.54. It missed on revenue ($17.7 billion actual versus the nearly $17.8 billion collective analyst estimate), but not by much. The company earned praise for its pricing strategy, which has proven to be nimble and effective in hedging against slowing domestic markets and declining sales in key regions abroad.

The amounts of the resulting analyst price target hikes varied, but collectively, they brought cautious optimism to Caterpillar stock.

One of the more upbeat Caterpillar trackers is Truist's Jamie Cook. She added $9 to her fair value assessment of the storied industrial company for a new target of $399. She also maintained her buy recommendation. In a new research note, Cook said that Caterpillar has proven to be resilient in the face of a slowdown in the construction industry.

Coping well in a challenging environment

Not every analyst was wild about Caterpillar on Wednesday. One institution that actually cut its price target on the stock was Bank of America (NYSE:BAC); it reduced its level slightly to $376 per share from $385 while hanging on to its buy recommendation. Although the bank considers the company's position to be risky, it's "holding the line" on profitability in trying circumstances.

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Bank of America is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bank of America. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.