Orion (NYSE:OEC) Stock Price Up 3.2% – What’s Next?

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) shares rose 3.2% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $17.90 and last traded at $17.85. Approximately 48,500 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 444,980 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on OEC. StockNews.com lowered Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Orion from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday.

Orion Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.28 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.59 and a 200 day moving average of $20.13.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.06). Orion had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 18.97%. The company had revenue of $463.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $489.01 million. Research analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.021 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Corning F. Painter purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.69 per share, with a total value of $176,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 958,776 shares in the company, valued at $16,960,747.44. This represents a 1.05 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Orion by 1.9% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 34,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Orion by 4.8% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,040 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Orion by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,956 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Orion by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,949 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Global Investments increased its position in Orion by 1.9% during the second quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 48,291 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,060,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

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.