Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Short Interest Up 41.3% in January

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 842,698 shares, a growth of 41.3% from the December 31st total of 596,202 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 600,527 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 600,527 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Orion by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,857 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares during the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its stake in Orion by 18.2% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 13,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Orion by 2.8% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 85,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $901,000 after buying an additional 2,344 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP grew its position in Orion by 20.9% in the third quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 14,337 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 2,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in Orion by 7.4% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 39,275 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OEC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho set a $6.00 price target on shares of Orion in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Orion from $9.00 to $5.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Orion from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Orion presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $5.67.

Orion Stock Performance

OEC opened at $6.19 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $5.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $347.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.66 and a beta of 1.07. Orion has a 1-year low of $4.34 and a 1-year high of $16.63.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $450.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $453.45 million. Orion had a positive return on equity of 14.90% and a negative net margin of 1.74%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. Research analysts predict that Orion will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.