Cabot Corporation‘s CBT shares reached a fresh 52-week high of $110.98 on Sept. 18 before closing at $107.85.

CBT’s stock has appreciated 55.8% in the past year against the industry’s 4.3% fall.

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What’s Driving Cabot?

In the fiscal third quarter, Cabot's Performance Chemicals division posted robust growth, with sales climbing 8.1% year over year to $332 million. The segment’s EBIT surged 72% to $55 million, driven by higher volumes and a favorable product mix, particularly in specialized carbons and fumed metal oxides. The upside was fueled by strong automotive, infrastructure and semiconductor market demand.

The Reinforcement Materials segment also registered gains, benefiting from increased volumes in Europe and Asia Pacific and better pricing and product mix in 2024 customer agreements.

CBT is optimistic about its fiscal fourth-quarter outlook. CBT raised its fiscal 2024 adjusted EPS guidance to $7.00-$7.10, suggesting a 30-cent increase at the midpoint. The upward revision reflects anticipated strong results from the Performance Chemicals division and ongoing strength in the Reinforcement Materials segment.

The company’s earnings have consistently surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the earnings surprise being 8.6%, on average. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2024 earnings is pegged at $7.07, indicating a 31.4% year-over-year increase. Earnings are expected to move up 10.6% in the fiscal 2025. In the past two months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cabot’s fiscal 2024 earnings has been revised upward by 4.3%.

Cabot Corporation Price and Consensus

Cabot Corporation price-consensus-chart | Cabot Corporation Quote

CBT’s Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

Cabot currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are IAMGOLD Corporation IAG, Eldorado Gold Corporation EGO and Hawkins, Inc. HWKN. While IAMGOLD and Eldorado Gold sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Hawkins carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IAMGOLD’scurrent-year earnings is pegged at 41 cents per share, indicating a rise of 355.6% from the year-ago level. IAG’s earnings beat the consensus estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 200%. The stock has surged nearly 114.2% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Eldorado Gold’s current year earnings is pegged at $1.35 per share, indicating a year-over-year rise of 136.8%. EGO beat the consensus estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 430.3%. The company's shares have surged nearly 70.6% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hawkins’ current fiscal-year earnings is pegged at $4.14 per share, indicating a rise of 15.3% from the year-ago level. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HWKN’s current fiscal-year earnings has increased 12.8% in the past 60 days.The stock has appreciated around 101.7% in the past year.

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