Orion (NYSE:OEC) Sets New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) shares reached a new 52-week low of $9.01 during trading, with analysts issuing mainly negative ratings, including a "strong sell" from Zacks Research.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings miss with $0.32 earnings per share, falling short of expectations and showing a 2.2% decline in revenue from the previous year.
• Orion recently announced an interim dividend of $0.0207 per share, with an ex-dividend date set for December 12th, representing a yield of 80.0%.

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $9.01 and last traded at $9.05, with a volume of 298577 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OEC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Orion to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $9.00 price objective (down from $10.00) on shares of Orion in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of Orion in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Orion has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $11.67.

Orion Trading Down 2.4%

The company's fifty day moving average is $10.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $508.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.56 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Orion Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a interim dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 80.0%. Orion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OEC. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Orion by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 560,606 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $8,852,000 after purchasing an additional 38,793 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Orion by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 52,125 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $823,000 after acquiring an additional 17,109 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Orion by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 32,760 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Orion by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 635,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $10,035,000 after acquiring an additional 65,549 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Orion by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 694,579 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $10,967,000 after acquiring an additional 117,022 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company's stock.

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.

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