Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Orion (NYSE:OEC) Stock

Orion (NYSE:OEC) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Mizuho from $4.50 to $5.25 in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an “underperform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Mizuho’s target price points to a potential downside of 15.64% from the company’s current price.

OEC has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on Orion from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Orion from $9.00 to $5.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $5.58.

Orion Trading Down 4.3%

NYSE:OEC opened at $6.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $350.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.94 and a beta of 1.06. Orion has a one year low of $4.34 and a one year high of $16.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.90.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.26). Orion had a positive return on equity of 6.52% and a negative net margin of 3.88%.The business had revenue of $411.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.79 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Orion will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Orion by 2.6% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,694,825 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $35,587,000 after buying an additional 117,628 shares in the last quarter. Divisar Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Orion by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Divisar Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $18,574,000 after acquiring an additional 241,160 shares during the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Orion by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 2,424,995 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,438,000 after acquiring an additional 325,995 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Orion by 0.3% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,350,415 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,816,000 after purchasing an additional 7,045 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Orion by 6.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,138,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $16,207,000 after purchasing an additional 137,890 shares during the period. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.