Orion (NYSE:OEC) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

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

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

Orion Stock Up 6.6 %

NYSE OEC opened at $17.61 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Orion has a one year low of $15.54 and a one year high of $28.48. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.47.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $477.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Orion will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.021 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.41%.

Insider Transactions at Orion

In other Orion news, CEO Corning F. Painter acquired 20,000 shares of the business’s 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 948,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,584,604.48. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Orion news, CEO Corning F. Painter bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.48 per share, for a total transaction of $349,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 948,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,584,604.48. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Glajch purchased 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $18.16 per share, for a total transaction of $272,400.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 101,855 shares in the company, valued at $1,849,686.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 47,500 shares of company stock worth $845,225 in the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Orion

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC boosted 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 worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in Orion in the second quarter worth $54,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Orion by 1,375.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Orion in the 1st quarter valued at $104,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Orion by 76.9% in 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 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.