Orion (NYSE:OEC) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Orion's shares gapped down from a closing price of $10.34 to $10.04, with recent trading at $9.62 and a volume of 86,855 shares.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Reduce" for Orion, with a $9.00 target price reported by multiple firms and an average price target of $11.67.
• The company reported lower than expected earnings of $0.32 per share, missing estimates by $0.04, amid a 2.2% decline in revenue year-over-year.

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $10.34, but opened at $10.04. Orion shares last traded at $9.62, with a volume of 86,855 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $9.00 target price (down from $10.00) on shares of Orion in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Orion to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Mizuho reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of Orion in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $11.67.

Orion Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $524.50 million, a P/E ratio of 34.63 and a beta of 1.05. The company's 50-day moving average is $10.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.41.

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

Orion Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Orion

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OEC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Orion by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,577 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 3,630 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Orion by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 560,606 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $8,852,000 after buying an additional 38,793 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Orion by 48.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 52,125 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $823,000 after buying an additional 17,109 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Orion by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 32,760 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Orion by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 635,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $10,035,000 after buying an additional 65,549 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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