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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CBT. StockNews.com raised Cabot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Cabot from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Cabot from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.00.

Cabot Stock Down 4.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $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, sell-side analysts expect that Cabot Co. will post 7.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cabot Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Cabot

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 103,380 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cabot by 1.8% during 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 buying an additional 22,719 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings 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 worth $86,039,000 after acquiring an additional 53,090 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Cabot by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 845,261 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $77,181,000 after acquiring an additional 55,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Cabot by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 794,477 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $72,544,000 after acquiring an additional 87,881 shares during 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.