Orion (NYSE:OEC) Share Price Passes Above 50-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Orion's share price moved above its 50-day moving average, trading as high as $6.91 (last $6.8940) versus the 50-day average of $5.97, and was up about 2.7% on the session.
• Analyst sentiment is predominantly negative — four sell ratings and one hold yield a consensus of "Strong Sell" with an average price target of $5.75, below the current share price.
• Company fundamentals are mixed: Orion missed quarterly EPS (‑$0.34 vs. ‑$0.08 expected) while beating revenue, pays a small 1.2% dividend, and has a relatively high debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.97 and traded as high as $6.91. Orion shares last traded at $6.8940, with a volume of 385,809 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Orion from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Orion from $4.50 to $5.25 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research cut shares of Orion from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Orion from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Orion in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Orion presently has an average rating of "Strong Sell" and a consensus price target of $5.75.

Orion Trading Up 2.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $387.95 million, a P/E ratio of -5.47 and a beta of 0.91. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $5.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.77.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $411.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $365.79 million. Orion had a positive return on equity of 6.52% and a negative net margin of 3.88%. Research analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.0207 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. Orion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -6.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Orion during the 4th quarter worth $91,000. Aristides Capital LLC bought a new position in Orion in the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Orion by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,807,965 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $9,546,000 after purchasing an additional 7,898 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Orion by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 72,571 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 17,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Orion by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 797,905 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,213,000 after buying an additional 324,921 shares during the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Orion Company Profile

Orion Engineered Carbons SA, operating as Orion NYSE: OEC, is a global producer of carbon black, a critical performance additive used to enhance the strength, durability and conductivity of various materials. The company’s products chiefly serve the tire and rubber industry, where carbon black imparts wear resistance and longevity, as well as the plastics, coatings, inks and battery components markets, where specialty grades deliver tailored conductivity and color properties.

Orion’s product portfolio is organized into two core segments: Rubber and Specialty and Chemical Specialties.

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