Brokerages Set Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Target Price at $5.92

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Strong Sell” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and two have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.9167.

Several brokerages recently commented on OEC. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Orion from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Orion from $4.50 to $5.25 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Orion from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th.

Orion Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:OEC opened at $6.40 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $6.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $360.73 million, a P/E ratio of -4.00 and a beta of 0.98. Orion has a 12-month low of $4.34 and a 12-month high of $12.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.18). Orion had a negative net margin of 4.98% and a positive return on equity of 2.23%. The company had revenue of $459.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $434.31 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Orion will post 0.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Orion’s payout ratio is presently -5.00%.

Institutional Trading of Orion

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Medina Value Partners LLC grew its stake in Orion by 245.3% during the third quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC now owns 1,238,058 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,384,000 after buying an additional 879,479 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Orion by 361.3% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 874,279 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,616,000 after buying an additional 684,749 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in Orion by 190.0% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 582,141 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,413,000 after buying an additional 381,388 shares during the last quarter. CastleKnight Management LP grew its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Orion during the fourth quarter worth about $1,910,000. Institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

About Orion

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.