Goldman Sachs analyst Jerry Revich kept his Buy rating and $156 price target on Caterpillar but lowered his outlook for FY18-20 EPS by about 2% on average. The analyst cites reduced oil and gas reciprocating engine demand for machinery, even though he sees the mining, oil & gas end markets closer to trough than mid-cycle. Revich further states that his forecasts are now below consensus, even though Caterpillar shares trade at 10.3-times forward earnings, which is near the historical trough valuation of 10-times next twelve months' earnings.

Notable companies reporting before tomorrow's open, with earnings consensus, include Merck (MRK), consensus $1.87... Caterpillar (CAT), consensus $5.14... Comcast (CMSCA), consensus 99c... Honeywell (HON), consensus $2.17... Bristol-Myers (BMY), consensus ($4.44)... Altria (MO), consensus $1.15... Keurig Dr. Pepper (KDP), consensus 35c... GE Vernova (GEV), consensus (37c)... Royal Caribbean (RCL), consensus $1.33... Tractor Supply (TSCO), consensus $1.72... Mobileye (MBLY), consensus (6c)... Textron (TXT), consensus $1.23... LabCorp (LH), consensus $3.48... Southwest Airlines (LUV), consensus (34c)... American Airlines (AAL), consensus (29c)... Harley-Davidson (HOG), consensus $1.51.