Orion (NYSE:OEC) Now Covered by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Orion (NYSE:OEC) in a research note published on Friday morning,Zacks reports. The firm issued a strong-buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

OEC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Orion from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Orion from $8.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Orion presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $5.58.

Orion Trading Down 5.2%

Shares of OEC stock traded down $0.21 on Friday, reaching $3.96. 900,681 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 401,089. The stock has a market cap of $223.54 million, a PE ratio of -6.82 and a beta of 1.05. Orion has a one year low of $3.91 and a one year high of $8.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.34.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $472.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.99 million. Orion had a negative net margin of 5.28% and a negative return on equity of 0.31%. Equities research analysts forecast that Orion will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is presently -4.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Orion

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OEC. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Orion in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $63,000. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in Orion during the third quarter valued at approximately $127,000. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its holdings in Orion by 52.7% during the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 18,736 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 6,465 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Orion in the second quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Orion by 70.6% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,235 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

About Orion

Orion SA, formerly known as Orion Engineered Carbons SA, is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and sells carbon-based products. Its portfolio includes specialty carbon black, high-performance carbon black, conductive additives and other carbon materials used in a range of industrial and consumer applications.

The company’s products help provide color, conductivity, reinforcement, ultraviolet protection and other performance characteristics in products such as coatings, paints, printing inks, plastics, adhesives, sealants, batteries, tires and other rubber goods.