Cabot (CBT) Competitors

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) and Cabot (NYSE:CBT) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, community ranking, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, media sentiment, profitability and valuation.

Is WLK or CBT a better dividend stock?

Westlake pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Cabot pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Westlake pays out 295.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Cabot pays out 25.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Westlake has raised its dividend for 21 consecutive years and Cabot has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Cabot is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in WLK or CBT?

28.4% of Westlake shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of Cabot shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Westlake shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of Cabot shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor WLK or CBT?

Westlake received 73 more outperform votes than Cabot when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 61.81% of users gave Cabot an outperform vote while only 57.23% of users gave Westlake an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Westlake	Outperform Votes 463 57.23%	Underperform Votes 346 42.77%
Cabot	Outperform Votes 390 61.81%	Underperform Votes 241 38.19%

Is WLK or CBT more profitable?

Cabot has a net margin of 9.51% compared to Westlake's net margin of 0.81%. Cabot's return on equity of 26.60% beat Westlake's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westlake	0.81%	6.93%	3.61%
Cabot	9.51%	26.60%	10.99%

Which has more volatility & risk, WLK or CBT?

Westlake has a beta of 1.18, suggesting that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cabot has a beta of 1.21, suggesting that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer WLK or CBT?

In the previous week, Westlake had 1 more articles in the media than Cabot. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Westlake and 13 mentions for Cabot. Cabot's average media sentiment score of 0.41 beat Westlake's score of 0.04 indicating that Cabot is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Westlake	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	5 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Cabot	3 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts prefer WLK or CBT?

Westlake currently has a consensus price target of $154.85, suggesting a potential upside of 32.56%. Cabot has a consensus price target of $102.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.87%. Given Westlake's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Westlake is more favorable than Cabot.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westlake	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.54
Cabot	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has higher valuation & earnings, WLK or CBT?

Westlake has higher revenue and earnings than Cabot. Cabot is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Westlake, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Westlake	$12.13B	1.24	$479M	$0.71	164.52
Cabot	$3.99B	1.23	$380M	$6.74	13.41

Summary

Cabot beats Westlake on 11 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.