Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.02 Per Share

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, September 19th,Zacks Dividends reports. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.021 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02.

Orion has decreased its dividend by an average of 25.5% annually over the last three years. Orion has a dividend payout ratio of 4.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Orion to earn $1.83 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 4.4%.

Orion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OEC opened at $18.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Orion has a 12 month low of $14.94 and a 12 month high of $28.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $17.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.29.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.06). Orion had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 18.97%. The firm had revenue of $463.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $489.01 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Orion will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OEC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Orion from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th.

Orion Company Profile

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.