Orion (NYSE:OEC) Stock Price Down 6.2% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)'s stock price declined by 6.2%, trading as low as $10.10, and volume was significantly down, with 137,297 shares changing hands compared to an average of 601,750 shares.
• Recent analyst ratings include a downgrade to a "strong sell" from Zacks and lowered price targets from Mizuho and JPMorgan Chase, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.00.
• Orion reported a quarterly EPS of $0.32, missing expectations, and its revenue fell 2.2% year-over-year, while the company also announced an interim dividend of $0.0207.

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 6.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $10.10 and last traded at $10.02. Approximately 137,297 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 601,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OEC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Orion to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Orion from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $9.00 price target (down from $10.00) on shares of Orion in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Orion from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.00.

Orion Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The company has a market capitalization of $557.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.78 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $10.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.95.

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

Orion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a interim dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a yield of 80.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. Orion's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OEC. Harvey Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Orion by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 2,424,995 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $25,438,000 after purchasing an additional 325,995 shares in the last quarter. Grizzlyrock Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Orion by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Grizzlyrock Capital LLC now owns 206,280 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,164,000 after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its stake in shares of Orion by 70.2% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 162,551 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 67,022 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Orion by 54.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 478,629 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,021,000 after purchasing an additional 167,824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Orion by 414.7% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,561 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 29,458 shares during the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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