Orion (NYSE:OEC) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $15.17 and last traded at $15.18, with a volume of 131389 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on OEC shares. StockNews.com cut Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Orion from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th.

Orion Trading Down 3.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $874.82 million, a P/E ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 1.46.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last released 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 return on equity of 19.21% and a net margin of 4.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Orion S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.021 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. This is a boost from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Orion’s payout ratio is presently 6.06%.

Insider Transactions at Orion

In other Orion news, CEO Corning F. Painter bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.69 per share, for a total transaction of $176,900.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 958,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,960,747.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Corning F. Painter acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.69 per share, for a total transaction of $176,900.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 958,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,960,747.44. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dan F. Smith acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.53 per share, for a total transaction of $46,325.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 78,772 shares in the company, valued at $1,459,645.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 47,500 shares of company stock worth $845,225 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OEC. CWM LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,412 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Orion during the 2nd quarter valued at about $54,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Orion during the 3rd quarter valued at about $69,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Orion by 1,375.1% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.