Orion (NYSE:OEC) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Orion (NYSE:OEC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Orion from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Orion Trading Up 1.1 %

OEC opened at $17.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $18.59 and a 200-day moving average of $21.85. Orion has a 52 week low of $15.54 and a 52 week high of $28.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $477.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $491.14 million. Orion had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 19.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Orion will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.021 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. This is an increase from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Orion’s payout ratio is 5.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Corning F. Painter purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.48 per share, with a total value of $349,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 948,776 shares in the company, valued at $16,584,604.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Orion news, Director Dan F. Smith acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.53 per share, with a total value of $46,325.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 78,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,459,645.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Corning F. Painter bought 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.48 per share, for a total transaction of $349,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 948,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,584,604.48. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 47,500 shares of company stock worth $845,225 over the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Orion by 207.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Orion during the second quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Orion by 1,375.1% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Orion in the 1st quarter worth approximately $104,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in Orion by 76.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,776 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 2,076 shares during the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by 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.