Orion (NYSE:OEC) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 461,441 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the previous session’s volume of 448,653 shares.The stock last traded at $17.23 and had previously closed at $17.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on OEC. StockNews.com cut shares of Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Orion from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

Orion Stock Down 0.9 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $17.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $976.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21 and a beta of 1.51.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.06). Orion had a return on equity of 18.97% and a net margin of 1.67%. The company had revenue of $463.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $489.01 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.021 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is 15.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Orion by 207.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in shares of Orion by 1.9% during the second quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 48,291 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,060,000 after buying an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Orion by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 34,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $754,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Orion by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 210,502 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,618,000 after acquiring an additional 26,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Orion by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 21,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339 shares in the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.