Analysts Set Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Price Target at $5.58

Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) have been given a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and one has assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5.5833.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on OEC. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Orion from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Orion from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Orion from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Orion from $4.50 to $5.25 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Orion

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Orion by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,694,825 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $35,587,000 after purchasing an additional 117,628 shares during the period. Divisar Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Orion by 10.9% in the third quarter. Divisar Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $18,574,000 after purchasing an additional 241,160 shares during the period. Harvey Partners LLC increased its stake in Orion by 15.5% in the second quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 2,424,995 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,438,000 after purchasing an additional 325,995 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Orion by 0.3% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,350,415 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $17,816,000 after buying an additional 7,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Orion by 6.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,138,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $16,207,000 after buying an additional 137,890 shares during the period. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Orion Trading Down 0.5%

OEC opened at $6.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.03. Orion has a one year low of $4.34 and a one year high of $13.42. The company has a market cap of $339.25 million, a P/E ratio of -4.78 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.93.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $411.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.79 million. Orion had a positive return on equity of 6.52% and a negative net margin of 3.88%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Orion will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Orion’s payout ratio is -6.35%.

About Orion

Orion Engineered Carbons SA, operating as Orion (NYSE: OEC), is a global producer of carbon black, a critical performance additive used to enhance the strength, durability and conductivity of various materials. The company’s products chiefly serve the tire and rubber industry, where carbon black imparts wear resistance and longevity, as well as the plastics, coatings, inks and battery components markets, where specialty grades deliver tailored conductivity and color properties.

Orion’s product portfolio is organized into two core segments: Rubber and Specialty and Chemical Specialties.