Cabot (NYSE:CBT) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $78.44 and last traded at $79.22, with a volume of 45524 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $84.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CBT. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Cabot from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cabot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Cabot from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.00.

Cabot Trading Down 4.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $85.23 and its 200 day moving average is $97.76.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.02. Cabot had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 26.79%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cabot Co. will post 7.57 EPS for the current year.

Cabot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Cabot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cabot

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Cabot by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,761 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Cabot by 8.4% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 9,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,016,000 after buying an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cabot by 47.1% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 6,911 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $772,000 after buying an additional 2,212 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new stake in Cabot during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cabot by 107.2% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 21,040 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,346,000 after acquiring an additional 10,888 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.18% of the company’s stock.

Cabot Company Profile

Cabot Corporation operates as a specialty chemicals and performance materials company. The company operates through two segments, Reinforcement Materials and Performance Chemicals. It offers reinforcing carbons that are used in tires as a rubber reinforcing agent and performance additive, as well as in industrial products, such as hoses, belts, extruded profiles, and molded goods; and engineered elastomer composites solutions.