JPMorgan Chase & Co. Downgrades Cabot (NYSE:CBT) to Underweight

Cabot (NYSE:CBT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $105.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price points to a potential downside of 10.13% from the company's current price.

CBT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Cabot from $103.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Cabot from $103.00 to $98.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.00.

Cabot Price Performance

Cabot stock traded up $1.85 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $116.84. 347,333 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 341,550. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.08. Cabot has a one year low of $70.63 and a one year high of $117.46. The stock has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $109.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.61.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. Cabot had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 26.60%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Cabot will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cabot news, CEO Sean D. Keohane sold 25,617 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total transaction of $2,601,406.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 331,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,630,719.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Erica Mclaughlin sold 16,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.24, for a total value of $1,708,493.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 59,814 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,235,011.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sean D. Keohane sold 25,617 shares of Cabot stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total value of $2,601,406.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,630,719.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,665 shares of company stock valued at $4,986,299 over the last ninety days. 3.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cabot

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Cabot by 251.7% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 10,271 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,148,000 after buying an additional 7,351 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Cabot by 0.3% during the 3rd 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 during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Cabot by 22.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 650 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Cabot by 37.4% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,103 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 1,934 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Cabot during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,483,000. 93.18% of the stock is currently 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.