Orion (NYSE:OEC) Sets New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $13.14 and last traded at $13.15, with a volume of 393554 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group decreased their target price on Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Orion Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $745.85 million, a P/E ratio of 17.55 and a beta of 1.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $434.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $437.03 million. Orion had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 20.94%. Sell-side analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.67%.

Institutional Trading of Orion

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OEC. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Orion by 148.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 151,205 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,693,000 after buying an additional 90,292 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Orion during the third quarter worth $4,620,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Orion by 20.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,179,181 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,001,000 after acquiring an additional 198,182 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Orion by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 377,198 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,718,000 after acquiring an additional 52,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Orion by 320.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

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.