Orion (NYSE:OEC) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Orion (NYSE:OEC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Orion from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Orion from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Orion currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $5.92.

Orion Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of OEC stock opened at $6.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $386.05 million, a PE ratio of -4.28 and a beta of 1.00. Orion has a 1-year low of $4.34 and a 1-year high of $11.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $6.88 and a 200 day moving average of $6.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $459.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $434.31 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Orion 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 Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be given a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is currently -5.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Orion by 10.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 283,138 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,661,000 after purchasing an additional 27,442 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Orion by 86.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 149,128 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,928,000 after purchasing an additional 69,054 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Orion by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,857 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 1,097 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Orion in the 1st quarter worth approximately $137,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Orion by 202.7% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 121,078 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after buying an additional 81,079 shares in the last quarter. 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.