Weiss Ratings Reaffirms "Sell (D)" Rating for Orion (NYSE:OEC)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reiterated a "Sell (D)" rating for Orion (NYSE: OEC), reflecting ongoing concerns about the company's stock performance.
• JPMorgan and UBS analysts have revised their price targets for Orion, with JPMorgan setting a target of $9.00 and UBS dropping theirs to $12.00, indicating a bearish outlook.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings missed expectations, reporting $0.32 earnings per share against a consensus estimate of $0.36, with revenues down 2.2% compared to the previous year.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d)" rating reiterated by analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $9.00 price target (down previously from $10.00) on shares of Orion in a report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Orion from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Mizuho set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Orion in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Orion to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Orion has a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" and a consensus target price of $9.33.

Orion Stock Performance

Orion stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $7.08. 13,388 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 586,025. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.23 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.68. Orion has a 12 month low of $7.00 and a 12 month high of $19.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last released 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). The business had revenue of $466.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $475.77 million. Orion had a return on equity of 16.67% and a net margin of 0.82%.The firm's revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Orion will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Orion by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,638,320 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $34,113,000 after purchasing an additional 21,033 shares during the period. Harvey Partners LLC raised its holdings in Orion by 15.5% during the second 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 during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Orion by 5.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,000,241 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $20,983,000 after purchasing an additional 110,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Orion by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC now owns 1,946,739 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $25,171,000 after buying an additional 24,041 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.

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