Orion (NYSE:OEC) Stock Rating Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) was upgraded by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, FinViz reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on OEC. Zacks Research upgraded Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Orion from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Orion in a research note on Friday. They set a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Orion from $8.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Orion presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.58.

Orion Stock Performance

OEC stock opened at $4.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.33. Orion has a 12-month low of $3.91 and a 12-month high of $8.64.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $472.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.99 million. Orion had a negative return on equity of 4.09% and a negative net margin of 1.75%. Sell-side analysts expect that Orion will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Orion

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in Orion in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Orion during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Orion during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Orion during the second quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Orion by 26.4% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 9,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,072 shares in the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Orion

Orion SA, formerly known as Orion Engineered Carbons SA, is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and sells carbon-based products. Its portfolio includes specialty carbon black, high-performance carbon black, conductive additives and other carbon materials used in a range of industrial and consumer applications.

The company’s products help provide color, conductivity, reinforcement, ultraviolet protection and other performance characteristics in products such as coatings, paints, printing inks, plastics, adhesives, sealants, batteries, tires and other rubber goods.