Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 842,698 shares, an increase of 41.3% from the December 31st total of 596,202 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 600,527 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 600,527 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on OEC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research raised Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Orion from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Mizuho set a $6.00 target price on shares of Orion in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Orion from $9.00 to $5.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $5.67.

Institutional Trading of Orion

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Orion by 3.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,857 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its stake in shares of Orion by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 13,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,344 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Orion by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 14,337 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 2,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Orion by 7.4% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 39,275 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Orion Stock Performance

OEC stock opened at $6.19 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.25. Orion has a 52 week low of $4.34 and a 52 week high of $16.63. The stock has a market cap of $347.29 million, a P/E ratio of -10.66 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $450.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $453.45 million. Orion had a positive return on equity of 14.90% and a negative net margin of 1.74%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Orion will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Company Profile

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.