Orion (NYSE:OEC) Earns "Underweight" Rating from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has reaffirmed its underweight rating for Orion Engineered Carbons (NYSE:OEC) with a new price target of $9.00, indicating a potential downside of 14.89% from the current stock price.
• Orion's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $0.32, missing estimates, alongside a 2.2% year-over-year revenue decline to $466.40 million.
• Multiple analysts have adjusted their target prices for Orion, with Mizuho setting a new target of $10.00 and UBS Group lowering theirs to $17.00, reflecting a cautious outlook for the specialty chemicals company.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underweight" rating restated by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $9.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company's stock, down from their prior price objective of $10.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price suggests a potential downside of 9.41% from the stock's previous close.

OEC has been the topic of several other reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Orion from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Orion from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Orion currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.00.

Orion Stock Performance

OEC traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $9.94. 197,504 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 602,050. The stock has a market capitalization of $557.85 million, a P/E ratio of 36.77 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The company's fifty day moving average price is $10.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.95. Orion has a 52-week low of $9.03 and a 52-week high of $19.48.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $466.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $475.77 million. Orion had a net margin of 0.82% and a return on equity of 16.67%. The firm's revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Orion will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Orion by 37.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,577,197 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,015,000 after buying an additional 1,248,295 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Orion by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,638,320 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $34,113,000 after buying an additional 21,033 shares during the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Orion by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 2,424,995 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $25,438,000 after buying an additional 325,995 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Orion by 11.9% in 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 buying an additional 233,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Orion by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,000,241 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $20,983,000 after buying an additional 110,324 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company's stock.

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.