Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 842,698 shares, a growth of 41.3% from the December 31st total of 596,202 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 600,527 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 600,527 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OEC. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Orion by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,594 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 7,298 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Orion by 321.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,382 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 5,632 shares during the period. Glenmede Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Orion in the 3rd quarter valued at about $89,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Orion during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Finally, Cowa LLC purchased a new position in Orion during the third quarter valued at approximately $104,000. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on OEC. Mizuho set a $6.00 price target on shares of Orion in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Orion from $9.00 to $5.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Orion from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $5.67.

Orion Stock Performance

OEC stock opened at $6.42 on Tuesday. Orion has a twelve month low of $4.34 and a twelve month high of $16.63. The firm has a market cap of $360.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.06 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $450.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $453.45 million. Orion had a positive return on equity of 14.90% and a negative net margin of 1.74%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Orion will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

About Orion

Orion Engineered Carbons SA, operating as Orion (NYSE: OEC), is a global producer of carbon black, a critical performance additive used to enhance the strength, durability and conductivity of various materials. The company’s products chiefly serve the tire and rubber industry, where carbon black imparts wear resistance and longevity, as well as the plastics, coatings, inks and battery components markets, where specialty grades deliver tailored conductivity and color properties.

Orion’s product portfolio is organized into two core segments: Rubber and Specialty and Chemical Specialties.