Cabot (NYSE:CBT) Sets New 12-Month Low - What's Next?

Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT - Get Free Report)'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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $86.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Cabot Trading Up 0.9 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.21.

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Cabot (NYSE:CBT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 forecast that Cabot Co. will post 7.57 EPS for the current year.

Cabot Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Cabot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.84%.

Cabot declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 3rd that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cabot

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Cabot during the 4th quarter worth about $37,961,000. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new position in Cabot in the third quarter valued at approximately $19,643,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Cabot by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 349,369 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $31,901,000 after acquiring an additional 141,050 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Cabot by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 761,372 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $69,521,000 after acquiring an additional 135,119 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cabot by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,323,347 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $120,835,000 after purchasing an additional 103,380 shares during the period. 93.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.