StockNews.com Lowers Orion (NYSE:OEC) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Orion (NYSE:OEC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Orion from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Orion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OEC opened at $16.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Orion has a one year low of $15.54 and a one year high of $28.48. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $17.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.63. The company has a market capitalization of $982.49 million, a P/E ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 1.46.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $477.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $491.14 million. Orion had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 19.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Orion will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.021 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. This is a boost from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Orion

In other news, CEO Corning F. Painter acquired 20,000 shares of Orion stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.48 per share, for a total transaction of $349,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 948,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,584,604.48. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Orion news, CEO Corning F. Painter acquired 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.48 per share, with a total value of $349,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 948,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,584,604.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Corning F. Painter purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.69 per share, for a total transaction of $176,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 958,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,960,747.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 47,500 shares of company stock worth $845,225 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OEC. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Orion by 207.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Orion during the second quarter valued at $54,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Orion by 1,375.1% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Orion by 76.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,776 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 2,076 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Orion in the second quarter valued at about $140,000. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Orion

Orion SA, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of carbon black products. It operates in two segments, Specialty Carbon Black and Rubber Carbon Black. The company offers post-treated specialty carbon black grades for coatings and printing applications; high purity carbon black grades for the fiber industry; and conductive carbon black grades for batteries, polymers, and coatings.