Orion (NYSE:OEC) Shares Down 5.2% – What’s Next?

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) traded down 5.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $13.14 and last traded at $13.11. 203,604 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 532,535 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Orion Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.83. The company has a market cap of $760.75 million, a PE ratio of 17.90 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.10. Orion had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 2.35%. The company had revenue of $434.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $437.03 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones purchased 3,300 shares of Orion stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,705.14. The trade was a 4.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Orion by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,461,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after acquiring an additional 602,080 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Orion by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,617,287 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,327,000 after acquiring an additional 265,184 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Orion by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,186,942 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,529,000 after acquiring an additional 233,342 shares during the period. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Orion by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC now owns 1,922,698 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,359,000 after acquiring an additional 320,157 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Orion by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,747,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,588,000 after purchasing an additional 188,131 shares during the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.