Orion (NYSE:OEC) Trading Down 11.7%

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) traded down 11.7% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $15.54 and last traded at $15.78. 46,137 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 386,113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on OEC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Orion from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Orion from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Orion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Orion presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Orion Trading Down 4.9 %

The company has a market cap of $983.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 1.53. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $22.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $477.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $491.14 million. Orion had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. Research analysts expect that Orion S.A. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is 5.41%.

Insider Transactions at Orion

In other news, VP Sandra Niewiem sold 8,305 shares of Orion stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.21, for a total transaction of $201,064.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $341,336.79. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Orion news, CFO Jeffrey Glajch purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.68 per share, with a total value of $118,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 77,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,824,804.48. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Sandra Niewiem sold 8,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.21, for a total transaction of $201,064.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,099 shares in the company, valued at $341,336.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Orion by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 899,341 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $24,939,000 after purchasing an additional 53,720 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Orion by 315.3% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 54,494 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after buying an additional 41,372 shares during the last quarter. Jade Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Orion by 420.4% in the 4th quarter. Jade Capital Advisors LLC now owns 328,041 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,097,000 after buying an additional 265,000 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Orion by 1,355.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 687,659 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $19,069,000 after buying an additional 640,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Orion by 94.9% in the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 270,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,370,000 after buying an additional 131,902 shares during the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Orion

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.