Orion (NYSE:OEC) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Orion (NYSE:OEC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on OEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Orion from $9.00 to $5.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 28th. Zacks Research downgraded Orion from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho increased their target price on Orion from $4.50 to $5.25 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Orion from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $5.58.

Orion Stock Performance

Shares of OEC stock opened at $5.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $6.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.44 million, a P/E ratio of -4.01 and a beta of 1.05. Orion has a 12 month low of $4.34 and a 12 month high of $13.93.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.26). Orion had a negative net margin of 3.88% and a positive return on equity of 6.52%. The business had revenue of $411.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.79 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Orion will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -6.35%.

Institutional Trading of Orion

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Orion by 430.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,861 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 4,757 shares during the last quarter. Performa Ltd US LLC increased its holdings in shares of Orion by 690.0% in the 4th quarter. Performa Ltd US LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 6,900 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Orion during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Orion by 277.5% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 11,147 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 8,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Orion by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

About Orion

Orion Engineered Carbons SA, operating as Orion (NYSE: OEC), is a global producer of carbon black, a critical performance additive used to enhance the strength, durability and conductivity of various materials. The company’s products chiefly serve the tire and rubber industry, where carbon black imparts wear resistance and longevity, as well as the plastics, coatings, inks and battery components markets, where specialty grades deliver tailored conductivity and color properties.

Orion’s product portfolio is organized into two core segments: Rubber and Specialty and Chemical Specialties.