Orion (NYSE:OEC) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 461,441 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 3% from the previous session’s volume of 448,653 shares.The stock last traded at $17.23 and had previously closed at $17.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on OEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Orion from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com lowered Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Orion Stock Down 0.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $976.62 million, a PE ratio of 32.21 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.04.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $463.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $489.01 million. Orion had a return on equity of 18.97% and a net margin of 1.67%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Orion S.A. will post 1.68 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 paid a $0.021 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of OEC. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Orion by 35.4% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,647,985 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $64,971,000 after acquiring an additional 954,398 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Orion by 3.8% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,724,139 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $59,768,000 after buying an additional 99,613 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Orion by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,877,706 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,197,000 after acquiring an additional 80,266 shares in the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC lifted its position in Orion by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 1,696,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $30,206,000 after buying an additional 146,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Orion by 18.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,347,138 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,556,000 after purchasing an additional 210,990 shares during the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.