Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Short Interest Up 44.9% in March

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,675,940 shares, a growth of 44.9% from the February 26th total of 1,156,976 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 832,369 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP grew its position in Orion by 430.9% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,861 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 4,757 shares during the last quarter. Performa Ltd US LLC raised its position in Orion by 690.0% during the 4th quarter. Performa Ltd US LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 6,900 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Orion during the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Orion by 277.5% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 11,147 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 8,194 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Orion by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Orion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:OEC traded down $0.23 on Friday, reaching $6.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,002,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 828,931. Orion has a 52-week low of $4.34 and a 52-week high of $13.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $339.25 million, a P/E ratio of -4.78 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $5.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $411.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.79 million. Orion had a positive return on equity of 6.52% and a negative net margin of 3.88%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Orion will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -6.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.