Cabot Shares Plunge As Analyst Sees Dividend Cut

CHIP CUTTER

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Cabot Corp. tanked nearly 13 percent Friday after a JPMorgan analyst wrote that the specialty chemical and materials maker will likely cut its dividend in the wake of slumping results.

Analyst Jeffrey J. Zekauskas wrote that the company's annual dividend of 72 cents could be reduced, since it is "much in excess" of the 30 cents per share he estimates the company will lose in the 2009 fiscal year.

What's more, he said free cash flow is expected to be negative in the 2010 fiscal year, even before the dividend payment.

"Accordingly," Zekauskas wrote, "we think there is a reasonable chance of a dividend cut."

That sent the company stock down sharply Friday. Shares dropped as much as $2.35, or 14.9 percent, to $13.46 in afternoon trading on nearly three times the average trading volume.

Zekauskas noted that the company will struggle to keep pace with the market, as raw material costs rise with higher crude oil prices. Demand for the firm's carbon black product, a sort of thickening agent used to reinforce items such as tires and plastics, also remains weak, he wrote.