Orion (NYSE:OEC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Orion (NYSE:OEC) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.07), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $450.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $453.45 million. Orion had a net margin of 0.82% and a return on equity of 16.67%. The company’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS.

Orion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OEC traded down $0.32 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $4.58. 690,667 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 615,863. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. Orion has a 52 week low of $4.60 and a 52 week high of $19.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.17 million, a PE ratio of 16.93 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average is $7.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.79.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a interim dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.0207 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 80.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Orion by 3.1% in the second quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 384,541 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,034,000 after purchasing an additional 11,500 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Orion by 12.7% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 227,351 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,385,000 after acquiring an additional 25,610 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Orion by 259.3% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 222,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,336,000 after purchasing an additional 160,720 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Orion by 82.0% during the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 220,404 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,312,000 after purchasing an additional 99,326 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,344 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on OEC shares. UBS Group cut Orion from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $12.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho set a $6.00 price target on Orion in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research raised Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $9.00 target price (down from $10.00) on shares of Orion in a report on Monday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $7.33.

Orion Company Profile

Orion SA, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of carbon black products. It operates in two segments, Specialty Carbon Black and Rubber Carbon Black. The company offers post-treated specialty carbon black grades for coatings and printing applications; high purity carbon black grades for the fiber industry; and conductive carbon black grades for batteries, polymers, and coatings.