Orion (NYSE:OEC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Orion (NYSE:OEC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on OEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Orion from $9.00 to $5.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Orion from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Orion from $4.50 to $5.25 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Orion from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Orion currently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $5.58.

Orion Stock Performance

Shares of Orion stock opened at $6.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $351.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.96 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business has a 50-day moving average of $5.93 and a 200 day moving average of $6.03. Orion has a 12 month low of $4.34 and a 12 month high of $13.52.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $411.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.79 million. Orion had a positive return on equity of 6.52% and a negative net margin of 3.88%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Orion will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -6.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Orion by 430.9% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,861 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,757 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake 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 worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 5,632 shares in the last quarter. Performa Ltd US LLC increased its holdings in Orion by 690.0% in 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. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Orion in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Orion in the first quarter valued at $137,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.