Orion (NYSE:OEC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Orion (NYSE:OEC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Sunday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on OEC. Zacks Research raised Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Orion from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Orion presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $6.08.

Orion Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE OEC opened at $6.66 on Friday. Orion has a 1 year low of $4.34 and a 1 year high of $10.89. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.60. The company has a market cap of $376.42 million, a P/E ratio of -3.85 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

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

Orion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. Orion’s payout ratio is currently -4.62%.

Institutional Trading of Orion

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Orion by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 283,138 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,661,000 after purchasing an additional 27,442 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Orion by 86.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 149,128 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,928,000 after buying an additional 69,054 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,097 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Orion during the 1st quarter worth $137,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of Orion by 202.7% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 121,078 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,566,000 after buying an additional 81,079 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.