Caterpillar (CAT) closed the most recent trading day at $145.36, moving -0.12% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.72% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.36%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.91%.Prior to today's trading, shares of the construction equipment company had gained 1.46% over the past month. This has lagged the Industrial Products sector's gain of 2.77% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.64% in that time.CAT will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 31, 2020. In that report, analysts expect CAT to post earnings of $2.40 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 5.88%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $13.69 billion, down 4.58% from the year-ago period.For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $10.87 per share and revenue of $54.28 billion, which would represent changes of -3.12% and -0.82%, respectively, from the prior year.Any recent changes to analyst estimates for CAT should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. CAT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).Investors should also note CAT's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 13.39. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 13.19, so we one might conclude that CAT is trading at a premium comparatively.We can also see that CAT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.53. 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 1.48 at yesterday's closing price.The Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 252, which puts it in the bottom 2% of all 250+ industries.The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.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.