Wall Street Zen Downgrades Orion (NYSE:OEC) to Sell

Orion (NYSE:OEC) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Orion from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho raised their price objective 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. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Orion from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $5.58.

Orion Stock Performance

Shares of OEC stock opened at $6.36 on Wednesday. Orion has a one year low of $4.34 and a one year high of $12.84. The company has a market cap of $357.93 million, a P/E ratio of -5.05 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5.94 and a 200-day moving average of $5.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.34) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.26). Orion had a negative net margin of 3.88% and a positive return on equity of 6.52%. The firm had revenue of $411.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.79 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Orion will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Orion

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OEC. Quarry LP grew its holdings 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 holdings 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 worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 5,632 shares during the last quarter. Performa Ltd US LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 6,900 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in Orion in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Orion during the 1st quarter valued at $137,000. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.