Orion (NYSE:OEC) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Orion (NYSE:OEC) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on OEC. Zacks Research lowered Orion from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Orion from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Orion from $4.50 to $5.25 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Orion from $9.00 to $5.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $5.58.

Orion Price Performance

OEC stock opened at $5.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $319.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.50 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. Orion has a 12-month low of $4.34 and a 12-month high of $14.28. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.67.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $411.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $365.79 million. Orion had a positive return on equity of 6.52% and a negative net margin of 3.88%. On average, analysts expect that Orion will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Orion

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Orion by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,857 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Orion by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 30,641 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 1,680 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Orion by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,742 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its position in Orion by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 13,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 2,112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Orion by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 85,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $901,000 after acquiring an additional 2,344 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

About Orion

Orion Engineered Carbons SA, operating as Orion (NYSE: OEC), is a global producer of carbon black, a critical performance additive used to enhance the strength, durability and conductivity of various materials. The company’s products chiefly serve the tire and rubber industry, where carbon black imparts wear resistance and longevity, as well as the plastics, coatings, inks and battery components markets, where specialty grades deliver tailored conductivity and color properties.

Orion’s product portfolio is organized into two core segments: Rubber and Specialty and Chemical Specialties.