Cabot (NYSE:CBT) Trading Down 4.8% Following Weak Earnings

Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT)’s stock price dropped 4.8% during trading on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $104.16 and last traded at $104.80. Approximately 69,569 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 334,819 shares. The stock had previously closed at $110.09.

The specialty chemicals company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.81 by ($0.01). Cabot had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 26.99%. The firm had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CBT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Cabot from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Cabot from $103.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Cabot from $103.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.00.

Insider Transactions at Cabot

In other news, EVP Jeff Ji Zhu sold 1,201 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.19, for a total value of $127,534.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 96,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,194,240. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jeff Ji Zhu sold 1,201 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.19, for a total value of $127,534.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 96,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,194,240. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Hobart Kalkstein sold 5,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.58, for a total value of $548,865.06. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,204,579.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,665 shares of company stock worth $4,986,299 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cabot

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Eastern Bank raised its stake in shares of Cabot by 577.1% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 269,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,096,000 after acquiring an additional 229,500 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Cabot in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,643,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cabot by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 626,253 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $69,996,000 after purchasing an additional 146,179 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Cabot by 571.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 127,116 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,681,000 after purchasing an additional 108,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Cabot by 22.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 521,486 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,081,000 after buying an additional 97,101 shares during the period. 93.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cabot Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day moving average is $108.41 and its 200-day moving average is $101.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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.