Orion (NYSE:OEC) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on OEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Orion from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Orion Stock Down 1.8 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $16.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.68. 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 stock has a market cap of $875.40 million, a P/E ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 1.46.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $477.00 million during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Orion S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.021 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. This is a positive change from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dan F. Smith acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.53 per share, with a total value of $46,325.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 78,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,459,645.16. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Orion news, Director Dan F. Smith bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.53 per share, for a total transaction of $46,325.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 78,772 shares in the company, valued at $1,459,645.16. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Corning F. Painter bought 20,000 shares of Orion stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.48 per share, for a total transaction of $349,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 948,776 shares in the company, valued at $16,584,604.48. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 47,500 shares of company stock worth $845,225 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Orion

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of OEC. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Orion by 13.1% during the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,624,526 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $61,729,000 after buying an additional 304,372 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Orion by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,347,138 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,556,000 after acquiring an additional 210,990 shares during the period. SIR Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Orion during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,992,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Orion by 94.9% in the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 270,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,370,000 after purchasing an additional 131,902 shares during the period. Finally, Roubaix Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Orion by 68.2% in the third quarter. Roubaix Capital LLC now owns 308,303 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,491,000 after purchasing an additional 124,986 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

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.