Orion (NYSE:OEC) Sets New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $15.17 and last traded at $15.18, with a volume of 131389 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on OEC. StockNews.com downgraded Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Orion from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th.

Orion Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $875.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 1.46. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.68.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Orion had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 19.21%. The business had revenue of $477.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $491.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Orion S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.021 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Glajch purchased 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.16 per share, with a total value of $272,400.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 101,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,849,686.80. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Orion news, CEO Corning F. Painter bought 20,000 shares of Orion stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.48 per share, for a total transaction of $349,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 948,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,584,604.48. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Glajch purchased 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.16 per share, for a total transaction of $272,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 101,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,849,686.80. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 47,500 shares of company stock worth $845,225 over the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OEC. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Orion by 1.9% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 29,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Orion by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 34,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Orion by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,040 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Orion by 8.5% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,956 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Orion by 7.7% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,949 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.