Wall Street Zen Upgrades Orion (NYSE:OEC) to Hold

Orion (NYSE:OEC) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Orion from $4.50 to $5.25 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research downgraded Orion from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group upped their target price on Orion from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $5.58.

Orion Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:OEC opened at $6.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $359.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.08 and a beta of 0.91. Orion has a twelve month low of $4.34 and a twelve month high of $12.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $5.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $411.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.79 million. Orion had a positive return on equity of 6.52% and a negative net margin of 3.88%. Equities research analysts expect that Orion will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OEC. Quarry LP grew its stake in Orion by 430.9% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,861 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,757 shares during the period. Performa Ltd US LLC boosted its holdings in Orion by 690.0% in the fourth quarter. Performa Ltd US LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 6,900 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in Orion in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Orion by 277.5% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 11,147 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 8,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Orion by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Orion Company Profile

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.