Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,470,000 shares, an increase of 26.6% from the February 13th total of 2,740,000 shares. Approximately 6.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 425,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.2 days.

Cabot Stock Performance

CBT traded up $0.32 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $84.41. 415,129 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 347,265. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.29. Cabot has a 1 year low of $79.57 and a 1 year high of $117.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.21.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts predict that Cabot will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cabot announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 3rd that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cabot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Cabot’s payout ratio is presently 22.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cabot

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cabot during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cabot by 22.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 650 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cabot by 37.2% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 808 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Cabot by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,348 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Cabot by 1,685.1% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 1,584 shares in the last quarter. 93.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Cabot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Cabot from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Cabot from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cabot currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.00.

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.