StockNews.com Upgrades Cabot (NYSE:CBT) to Buy

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Cabot from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 11th. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.00.

Cabot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CBT opened at $88.30 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $90.21 and its 200 day moving average is $101.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 2.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.19. Cabot has a fifty-two week low of $80.21 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cabot will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Cabot announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cabot

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $120,835,000 after buying an additional 103,380 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cabot by 1.8% during the third 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 during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Cabot by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 942,273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $86,039,000 after buying an additional 53,090 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Cabot by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 845,261 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $77,181,000 after buying an additional 55,905 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Cabot by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 794,477 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $72,544,000 after buying an additional 87,881 shares during the period. 93.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.