Orion (NYSE:OEC) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Orion (NYSE:OEC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on OEC. Zacks Research raised shares of Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Orion from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Orion has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $6.08.

Orion Stock Performance

Shares of Orion stock opened at $7.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $408.92 million, a PE ratio of -4.18 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. Orion has a 52 week low of $4.34 and a 52 week high of $11.20. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.59.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $500.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $474.43 million. Orion had a negative return on equity of 0.31% and a negative net margin of 5.28%. Equities analysts forecast that Orion will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is -4.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Orion during the 2nd quarter worth $31,638,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Orion in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,898,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Orion by 361.3% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 874,279 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,616,000 after buying an additional 684,749 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Orion by 190.0% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 582,141 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,413,000 after buying an additional 381,388 shares during the period. Finally, CastleKnight Management LP grew its position in shares of Orion by 376.2% during the fourth quarter. CastleKnight Management LP now owns 471,941 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,492,000 after buying an additional 372,841 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

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.