Cabot (NYSE:CBT) Stock Price Up 4.4% – Here’s What Happened

Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT)’s share price traded up 4.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $88.82 and last traded at $88.64. 136,472 shares were traded 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Cabot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Cabot from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Cabot from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.00.

Cabot Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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

Cabot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Cabot’s payout ratio is currently 22.84%.

Cabot announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 3rd that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cabot

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Cabot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,504,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Cabot in the 4th quarter valued at $4,511,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Cabot by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 117,974 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,772,000 after purchasing an additional 18,021 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Cabot during the 4th quarter worth $531,000. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Cabot during the 4th quarter worth $7,352,000. Hedge funds and other 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.