Orion (NYSE:OEC) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $14.66, but opened at $16.10. Orion shares last traded at $15.48, with a volume of 57,739 shares trading hands.

The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.10. Orion had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 18.97%. The business had revenue of $434.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $437.03 million.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Orion from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Orion

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of OEC. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Orion in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its position in shares of Orion by 1,578.7% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 4,415 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Orion by 1,112.9% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 8,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 7,913 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Orion during the 4th quarter worth $171,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Orion in the third quarter valued at about $190,000. 94.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Orion Trading Up 5.1 %

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 business’s fifty day moving average is $15.06 and its 200 day moving average is $16.45. The stock has a market cap of $889.23 million, a PE ratio of 29.35 and a beta of 1.50.

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.