Orion (NYSE:OEC) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Orion (NYSE:OEC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday.

OEC has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research lowered Orion from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Orion from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Orion from $9.00 to $5.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Orion from $4.50 to $5.25 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $5.58.

Orion Trading Down 2.8%

NYSE:OEC opened at $4.64 on Monday. Orion has a 12 month low of $4.34 and a 12 month high of $13.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.68 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.25.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $411.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.79 million. Orion had a negative net margin of 3.88% and a positive return on equity of 6.52%. Analysts expect that Orion will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.0207 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. Orion’s payout ratio is currently -6.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Orion by 430.9% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,861 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 4,757 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Orion by 321.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,382 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 5,632 shares during the last quarter. Performa Ltd US LLC raised its position in Orion by 690.0% in the 4th 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 bought a new position in Orion during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Orion during the 1st quarter worth $137,000. Institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Orion Company Profile

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.