Orion (NYSE:OEC) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $12.08 and last traded at $12.59, with a volume of 579728 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on OEC. UBS Group dropped their target price on Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st.

Orion Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $650.05 million, a P/E ratio of 15.30 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.57.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.10. Orion had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 2.35%. The firm had revenue of $434.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $437.03 million. On average, research analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Orion

In other Orion news, VP Carlos Quinones purchased 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.07 per share, with a total value of $43,131.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,705.14. This represents a 4.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OEC. EVR Research LP bought a new stake in Orion in the 4th quarter valued at $12,632,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Orion by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,461,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after buying an additional 602,080 shares during the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of Orion in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,974,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC acquired a new stake in Orion during the fourth quarter worth about $7,464,000. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP bought a new position in Orion during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,302,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

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.