Orion (NYSE:OEC) Stock Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)’s stock price passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.86 and traded as high as $7.61. Orion shares last traded at $6.8550, with a volume of 545,831 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on OEC shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Orion from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Orion from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Orion from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Orion currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $5.92.

Orion Trading Down 9.2%

The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $386.55 million, a P/E ratio of -4.28 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Orion Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.0207 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 6th. Orion’s payout ratio is currently -5.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Orion

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Orion by 430.9% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,861 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,757 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Orion by 321.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,382 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 5,632 shares during the period. Performa Ltd US LLC raised its stake in shares of Orion by 690.0% in the 4th quarter. Performa Ltd US LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 6,900 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in shares of Orion during the 1st quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Orion by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 9,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,072 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.