Cabot Corporation (CBT Quick QuoteCBT - Free Report) announced the completion of two expansion projects. The move will help the company expand its global footprint in black masterbatch and compounds. It will also help beef up manufacturing capacity to better serve customers globally and grow in advanced polymeric materials.

 

The company recently acquired Tech Blend which now operates as Cabot Plastics Canada, LP and is a fully-owned subsidiary of Cabot within its global Specialty Compounds business. The other expansion undertaken by Cabot is the commissioning of a new production line at its manufacturing facility in Pepinster, Belgium. This will increase capacity and enhance production capabilities for plastic formulations, including conductive and engineering thermoplastics formulations. With this additional capacity, the Pepinster site is now the largest masterbatch and compounds manufacturing facility in Cabot’s network. 

 

With the latest expansions, the company’s full service manufacturing and sales capabilities in the North American region will be able to meet the demand of both global and regional customers. The company now has a complete range of black masterbatches from five manufacturing locations throughout Europe, Middle East, Asia and North America.

 

Cabot’s shares have lost around 3.4% over a year, as against the roughly 13.8% gain recorded by the industry.

 

 

 

 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2018 earnings for Cabot is currently pegged at $4.06, reflecting an expected year-over-year growth of 18.4%. Moreover, earnings are expected to register 11.6% growth in fiscal 2019.

 

Cabot expects its Reinforcement Materials segment to benefit, in the fiscal second quarter, from customer agreements along with a firm spot market in Europe and Asia. Also, the Performance Chemicals segment is expected to witness an improvement on a sequential basis owing to higher seasonal volumes and the favorable impact from price increases. Continued momentum in the specialty applications is also expected to benefit the Purification Solutions segment.

 

 

 

 

Cabot currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

 

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Kronos Worldwide Inc.(KRO Quick QuoteKRO - Free Report) , Nissan Chemical Industries Ltd. (NNCHY Quick QuoteNNCHY - Free Report) and Methanex Corporation (MEOH Quick QuoteMEOH - Free Report) .

 

Kronos has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 5% and sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The company’s shares have moved up 52.8% in a year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

 

Nissan Chemical has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 12.5% and flaunts a Zacks Rank #1. Its shares have gained 12.4% over a year.

 

Methanex has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 15% and carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Its shares have moved up 49.2% in a year.

 

 

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