Cabot (NYSE:CBT) Trading 4.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) traded up 4.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $88.82 and last traded at $88.64. 136,472 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 418,608 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CBT shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Cabot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Cabot from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Cabot from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cabot presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.00.

Cabot Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $87.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.21.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.02. Cabot had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 26.79%. On average, analysts anticipate that Cabot Co. will post 7.57 EPS for the current year.

Cabot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Cabot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.84%.

Cabot declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 3rd that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cabot

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Cabot by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 650 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cabot by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,348 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Cabot by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Cabot by 0.3% during the third quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 62,116 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,943,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC raised its position in Cabot by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.18% of the company’s stock.

About Cabot

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.