Orion (NYSE:OEC) Stock Price Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $6.85 and traded as high as $7.78. Orion shares last traded at $7.7010, with a volume of 289,866 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group increased their price target 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. Mizuho raised 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Orion from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Orion presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $5.92.

Orion Stock Up 0.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.02. The stock has a market cap of $434.26 million, a P/E ratio of -4.81 and a beta of 0.98.

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 positive return on equity of 2.23% and a negative net margin of 4.98%.The business had revenue of $459.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $434.31 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -5.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 4,757 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Orion by 321.8% during the second 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 last quarter. Performa Ltd US LLC raised its holdings in shares of Orion by 690.0% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Orion during the first quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Orion during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 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.