Orion (NYSE:OEC) Announces Earnings Results

Orion (NYSE:OEC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.07), Zacks reports. Orion had a negative net margin of 1.74% and a positive return on equity of 14.37%. The business had revenue of $450.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $453.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Orion Price Performance

Shares of OEC stock traded down $0.04 on Thursday, hitting $4.46. 436,898 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 620,365. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $250.43 million, a P/E ratio of -7.68 and a beta of 1.07. Orion has a 12 month low of $4.34 and a 12 month high of $19.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $7.61 and a 200 day moving average of $9.76.

Orion Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a interim dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.0207 per share. This represents a yield of 80.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is presently -13.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on OEC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Mizuho set a $6.00 price objective on 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 price target for the company from $12.00 to $7.00 in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, August 11th. 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $7.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Orion by 321.8% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,382 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 5,632 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Orion in the 1st quarter valued at $137,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Orion in the second quarter valued at about $220,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Orion by 414.7% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,561 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 29,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Orion by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 39,275 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Orion

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.