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The latest trading session saw Caterpillar (CAT) ending at $328.48, denoting a +0.74% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.02%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.09%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.18%.

Shares of the construction equipment company have depreciated by 0.38% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Industrial Products sector's loss of 2.29% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 4.44%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Caterpillar in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $5.58, indicating a 0.54% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $16.81 billion, down 2.91% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $21.73 per share and revenue of $66.7 billion, which would represent changes of +2.45% and -0.53%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Caterpillar. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.36% lower. Caterpillar is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Caterpillar is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 15. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 9.54, which means Caterpillar is trading at a premium to the group.

We can additionally observe that CAT currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.68. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Manufacturing - Construction and Mining was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.68 at yesterday's closing price.

The Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 75, placing it within the top 30% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.

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Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.