Orion (NYSE:OEC) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Orion (NYSE:OEC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

Separately, 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, August 7th.

Orion Price Performance

NYSE OEC opened at $17.15 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $999.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.20. Orion has a 52-week low of $15.54 and a 52-week high of $28.48.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $477.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $491.14 million. Orion had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 19.21%. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Orion will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.021 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Orion’s payout ratio is 5.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Corning F. Painter purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.48 per share, with a total value of $349,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 948,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,584,604.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Corning F. Painter purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.48 per share, with a total value of $349,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 948,776 shares in the company, valued at $16,584,604.48. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Corning F. Painter acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.69 per share, for a total transaction of $176,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 958,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,960,747.44. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 47,500 shares of company stock valued at $845,225 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Orion by 207.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,412 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Orion during the second quarter valued at $54,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Orion in the third quarter worth $69,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Orion by 1,375.1% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Orion by 76.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,776 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 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.