Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,940,000 shares, a drop of 15.3% from the February 28th total of 3,470,000 shares. Currently, 5.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 441,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.7 days.

Cabot Stock Down 4.0 %

Cabot stock traded down $3.39 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $80.96. The stock had a trading volume of 188,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 377,128. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $85.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.76. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.75, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.21. 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 has a 12 month low of $78.61 and a 12 month high of $117.46.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cabot will post 7.57 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Cabot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CBT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Cabot from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho reduced their price objective 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 upgraded shares of Cabot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cabot

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Cabot by 32.2% during 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 boosted its position in shares of Cabot by 8.4% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 9,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after buying an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in Cabot by 47.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new stake in Cabot during the third quarter worth $226,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in Cabot by 987.0% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 4,261 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 3,869 shares during the last quarter. 93.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.