Orion (NYSE:OEC) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $12.51 and last traded at $12.72, with a volume of 297745 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on OEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Orion Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.01. 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 company has a market cap of $744.72 million, a P/E ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 1.52.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.10. Orion had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 20.94%. The company had revenue of $434.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $437.03 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Orion’s payout ratio is 10.67%.

Insider Activity at Orion

In other Orion news, VP Carlos Quinones bought 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.07 per share, with a total value of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,705.14. The trade was a 4.32 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Orion

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Orion by 148.2% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 151,205 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,693,000 after buying an additional 90,292 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in Orion in the third quarter valued at about $4,620,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Orion by 20.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,179,181 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,001,000 after buying an additional 198,182 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Orion by 16.3% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 377,198 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,718,000 after buying an additional 52,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in Orion by 320.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 95,512 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,700,000 after buying an additional 72,793 shares in the last quarter. 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.