Orion (NYSE:OEC) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $14.66 and last traded at $14.71, with a volume of 28827 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Orion Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $835.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Orion by 1.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 606,466 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $10,801,000 after acquiring an additional 7,586 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Orion by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 57,672 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Orion by 320.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 95,512 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,700,000 after purchasing an additional 72,793 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Orion by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,301,158 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $23,178,000 after buying an additional 5,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Orion in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.