Cabot (NYSE:CBT) Sets New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $113.36 and last traded at $113.18, with a volume of 42911 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $112.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Cabot from $103.00 to $98.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cabot from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Cabot from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $101.75.

Cabot Trading Up 1.3 %

The company's 50-day moving average price is $104.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.14. The firm has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.20. Cabot had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 26.99%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Cabot Co. will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sean D. Keohane sold 25,617 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total transaction of $2,601,406.35. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Hobart Kalkstein sold 5,457 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.58, for a total transaction of $548,865.06. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,204,579.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sean D. Keohane sold 25,617 shares of Cabot stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,174 shares in the company, valued at $33,630,719.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 71,939 shares of company stock worth $7,308,812. 3.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cabot

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cabot by 33.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 475 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its stake in shares of Cabot by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 833 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Cabot by 53.9% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 371 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of Cabot by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 3,162 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cabot by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 10,851 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. 93.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.