Orion (NYSE:OEC) Stock Price Down 11.7%

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)’s stock price was down 11.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $15.54 and last traded at $15.78. Approximately 46,137 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 386,113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on OEC shares. Mizuho increased their price target on Orion from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Orion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.25.

Orion Trading Down 6.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $975.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.35.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.18). Orion had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 4.09%. The company had revenue of $477.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $491.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Orion S.A. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Sandra Niewiem sold 8,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.21, for a total value of $201,064.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $341,336.79. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Sandra Niewiem sold 8,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.21, for a total transaction of $201,064.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $341,336.79. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Carlos Quinones bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.51 per share, with a total value of $94,040.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 69,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,694.02. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Orion

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Orion in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Orion by 207.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,412 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Orion by 1,375.1% during the 1st 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 during the period. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Orion during the first quarter worth about $104,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Orion in the 1st quarter valued at about $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.