Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Stock Rated “Reduce” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.58.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on OEC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Orion from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Zacks Research upgraded Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Orion in a research report on Friday. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Orion from $8.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Orion in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Orion in the second quarter worth $37,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Orion in the second quarter worth $38,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Orion in the second quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Orion by 26.4% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 9,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 2,072 shares during the period. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Orion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OEC opened at $4.03 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.33. Orion has a 1-year low of $3.91 and a 1-year high of $8.64.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.08). Orion had a negative net margin of 1.75% and a negative return on equity of 4.09%. The firm had revenue of $472.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.99 million. Research analysts expect that Orion will post 0.08 EPS for the current year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Orion’s payout ratio is presently -13.79%.

About Orion

Orion SA, formerly known as Orion Engineered Carbons SA, is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and sells carbon-based products. Its portfolio includes specialty carbon black, high-performance carbon black, conductive additives and other carbon materials used in a range of industrial and consumer applications.

The company’s products help provide color, conductivity, reinforcement, ultraviolet protection and other performance characteristics in products such as coatings, paints, printing inks, plastics, adhesives, sealants, batteries, tires and other rubber goods.