Orion (NYSE:OEC) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $15.45 and last traded at $15.46, with a volume of 288522 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on OEC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Orion from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Orion Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a market cap of $894.66 million, a P/E ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 1.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $17.11 and its 200 day moving average is $20.91.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $477.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $491.14 million. Orion had a return on equity of 19.21% and a net margin of 4.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.021 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. This is a positive change from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Orion’s payout ratio is currently 6.06%.

Insider Activity at Orion

In other Orion news, Director Dan F. Smith acquired 2,500 shares of Orion stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.53 per share, for a total transaction of $46,325.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 78,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,459,645.16. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Dan F. Smith purchased 2,500 shares of Orion stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.53 per share, for a total transaction of $46,325.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 78,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,459,645.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Glajch purchased 15,000 shares of Orion stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.16 per share, with a total value of $272,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 101,855 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,849,686.80. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 47,500 shares of company stock worth $845,225. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Orion by 207.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of Orion during the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Orion during the 3rd quarter worth $69,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Orion by 1,375.1% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Orion by 76.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,776 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 2,076 shares during the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Orion

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.