Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Strong Sell” from Analysts

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) has been given an average recommendation of “Strong Sell” by the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $5.9167.

Several brokerages have recently commented on OEC. Wall Street Zen raised Orion from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on Orion from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OEC. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Orion by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 9,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,072 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Orion by 48.0% during the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 16,694 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 5,418 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Orion by 91.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 248,838 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 118,711 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Orion by 46.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 139,640 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $908,000 after purchasing an additional 44,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Orion by 31.7% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 252,122 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 60,692 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Orion Trading Down 10.8%

Shares of OEC stock opened at $5.67 on Friday. Orion has a 12-month low of $4.34 and a 12-month high of $11.62. The company has a market capitalization of $319.45 million, a P/E ratio of -3.54 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $7.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $459.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $434.31 million. Orion had a positive return on equity of 2.23% and a negative net margin of 4.98%. Research analysts forecast that Orion will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th will be issued a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. Orion’s payout ratio is currently -5.00%.

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.