This Might Be The Best Time To Buy Caterpillar

Barclays upgraded Caterpillar Inc. CAT to Overweight from Equal Weight, saying several of its end markets are now getting due for recovery, notably mining aftermarket, mining replacement and China construction.

“Investors likely will never see a chance to buy CAT revenues with as much upside as in 2017,” analyst Robert Wertheimer wrote in a note.

Though investors may get a chance to buy Caterpillar in 2018 with even more depressed revenues, the analyst expects the company will likely end 2018 on consensus expectations, with the worst trend in its history.

Wertheimer noted that Caterpillar has close to a decade of upside from replacement and recovery of different markets over time. As such, the analyst believes there should be years of different pockets of revenues unfolding upwards.

Optimism

The analyst bets on mining as the key growth driver for Caterpillar, driven by upside from depressed aftermarket, muted OEM and inventory restocks.

“A true recovery in mining and oil and gas would see earnings above $8-10 if the rest of CAT’s businesses were healthy, in our view,” Wertheimer highlighted.

The analyst also raised his price target to $110 from $100.

At last check, shares of Caterpillar was up 1.98 percent at $94.71.