Cabot (NYSE:CBT) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $83.22 and last traded at $83.19, with a volume of 92467 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $86.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CBT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Cabot from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Cabot from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Cabot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.00.

Cabot Trading Down 5.0 %

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 business’s 50-day moving average is $88.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.60. The firm has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.19.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts expect that Cabot Co. will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cabot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Cabot’s payout ratio is currently 22.84%.

Cabot announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cabot

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cabot by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,323,347 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $120,835,000 after buying an additional 103,380 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cabot by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,283,686 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $143,504,000 after acquiring an additional 22,719 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Cabot by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 942,273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $86,039,000 after purchasing an additional 53,090 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Cabot by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 845,261 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $77,181,000 after purchasing an additional 55,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Cabot by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 794,477 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $72,544,000 after purchasing an additional 87,881 shares in the last quarter. 93.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.