Weiss Ratings Reiterates "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 stock's performance.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has also downgraded Orion from "underweight" to a price target of $9.00, down from $10.00.
• Orion reported a net margin of 0.82% for the last quarter, with earnings per share missing analysts' estimates by $0.04.

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

Several other research firms have also issued reports on OEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "underweight" rating and set a $9.00 price target (down previously from $10.00) on shares of Orion in a report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group lowered shares of Orion from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $12.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Orion from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Orion in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Strong Sell" and a consensus target price of $7.33.

Orion Trading Down 0.2%

OEC stock opened at $5.75 on Friday. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $8.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.14. Orion has a 52 week low of $5.23 and a 52 week high of $19.48. The company has a market capitalization of $322.64 million, a PE ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 1.02.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Orion will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Orion

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OEC. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Orion during the 1st quarter worth $59,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Orion by 321.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,382 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 5,632 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Orion by 831.7% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 5,947 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Orion during the 1st quarter worth $137,000. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its holdings in Orion by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 13,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,112 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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