Orion S.A. (OEC) – What Are Analysts Thinking About This Stock?

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) has earned an average recommendation of “Strong Sell” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and two have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5.58.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on OEC shares. Zacks Research upgraded Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Orion from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Orion from $8.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research report on Thursday.

Orion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OEC opened at $5.34 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.97 and a 200 day moving average of $6.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $302.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.05. Orion has a 12-month low of $4.34 and a 12-month high of $8.64.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $500.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $474.43 million. Orion had a negative net margin of 5.28% and a negative return on equity of 0.31%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Orion will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is presently -4.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Orion during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Orion by 70.6% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,235 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,753 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its holdings in Orion by 153.8% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 29,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 17,683 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Orion in the second quarter worth approximately $128,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Orion in the second quarter worth approximately $89,000. 94.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Orion

Orion SA (NYSE: OEC) is a specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and sells carbon-based products. Its portfolio includes specialty and high-performance carbon black, conductive additives and other engineered materials used in applications such as coatings, plastics, inks, adhesives, batteries, tires and rubber products.

The company serves customers across a range of industries, including automotive, transportation, construction, electronics, energy storage and consumer products.