Orion (NYSE:OEC) Stock Passes Below Fifty Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) shares crossed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.86 and traded as low as $15.04. Orion shares last traded at $15.24, with a volume of 464,298 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on OEC shares. StockNews.com downgraded Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Orion from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, November 11th.

Orion Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $847.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.72 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $16.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.09.

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

Institutional Trading of Orion

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Orion by 35.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 954,398 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Orion by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,724,139 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $59,768,000 after buying an additional 99,613 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 worth $41,197,000 after buying an additional 80,266 shares during the period. Harvey Partners LLC lifted its stake in Orion by 9.5% in the third quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 1,696,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,206,000 after buying an additional 146,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Orion by 18.6% in 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 buying an additional 210,990 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.