Caterpillar (CAT) closed at $218.58 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.53% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.35%.Heading into today, shares of the construction equipment company had lost 1.49% over the past month, lagging the Industrial Products sector's loss of 0.36% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.64% in that time.CAT will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.36, up 129.13% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $12.44 billion, up 24.48% from the year-ago period.CAT's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $9.60 per share and revenue of $49.2 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +46.34% and +17.86%, respectively.Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for CAT. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. CAT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).Investors should also note CAT's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 22.64. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 18.77, so we one might conclude that CAT is trading at a premium comparatively.It is also worth noting that CAT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.89. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.69 as of yesterday's close.The Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 246, putting it in the bottom 4% of all 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.To follow CAT in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com. Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases. Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +50%, +83% and +164% in as little as 2 months. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Caterpillar Inc. (CAT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.