Cabot (NYSE:CBT) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Cabot Corporation (NYSE:CBT) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $86.54 and last traded at $86.0610, with a volume of 46775 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CBT shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cabot from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cabot in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cabot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Cabot in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Cabot from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.25.

Cabot Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $77.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.14. Cabot had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 21.33%. The firm had revenue of $904.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Cabot has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.000-6.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Cabot Corporation will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Cabot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.4725 per share. This represents a $1.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This is an increase from Cabot’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Cabot’s payout ratio is currently 35.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cabot

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Cabot by 343.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 65,561 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,986,000 after purchasing an additional 50,792 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Cabot by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,556,762 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $118,392,000 after purchasing an additional 73,734 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Cabot by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 614,178 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,708,000 after purchasing an additional 20,668 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new stake in shares of Cabot in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,040,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of Cabot by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 106,980 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,136,000 after purchasing an additional 29,202 shares during the last quarter. 93.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cabot

Cabot Corporation is a global specialty chemicals and performance materials company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1882 by Godfrey Lowell Cabot, the company has grown into a diversified manufacturer with operations across North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Cabot serves a wide range of end markets, including automotive, industrial, energy, and consumer products, supplying essential ingredients that enhance performance, durability and functionality.

The company operates two primary segments: Reinforcement Materials and Performance Materials.