Orion (NYSE:OEC) Shares Up 3.2% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) shot up 3.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $17.90 and last traded at $17.85. 48,500 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 444,980 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Orion from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday.

Orion Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.28 and a beta of 1.48.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.06). Orion had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 18.97%. The business had revenue of $463.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $489.01 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders 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 a boost from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is 15.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Orion news, CEO Corning F. Painter acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.69 per share, with a total value of $176,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 958,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,960,747.44. This trade represents a 1.05 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OEC. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Orion by 207.0% during the second 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. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in Orion during the second quarter valued at $54,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Orion during the third quarter worth about $69,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Orion by 1,375.1% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 3,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in Orion by 76.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,776 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares in 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.