Zacks Research Downgrades Orion (NYSE:OEC) to Strong Sell

Orion (NYSE:OEC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on OEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Orion from $9.00 to $5.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Mizuho set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Orion in a report on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Orion from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $6.00.

Orion Stock Up 1.3%

Orion stock opened at $5.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Orion has a twelve month low of $4.34 and a twelve month high of $17.07. The company has a market capitalization of $295.07 million, a P/E ratio of -9.06 and a beta of 1.10.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.07). Orion had a negative net margin of 1.74% and a positive return on equity of 14.90%. The firm had revenue of $450.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $453.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. Orion’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Orion will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Orion

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tweedy Browne Co LLC lifted its stake in Orion by 105.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC now owns 33,541 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 17,212 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Orion by 190.0% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 582,141 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,413,000 after buying an additional 381,388 shares in the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC boosted its stake in Orion by 28.4% during the third quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 50,458 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 11,160 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in Orion by 31.9% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 603,435 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,574,000 after buying an additional 145,849 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Orion by 8.6% during the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 55,405 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 4,408 shares in the last quarter. 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.