Orion (NYSE:OEC) Sees Large Volume Increase - Should You Buy?

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 461,441 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 3% from the previous session's volume of 448,653 shares.The stock last traded at $17.23 and had previously closed at $17.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on OEC shares. StockNews.com cut Orion from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Orion from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

Orion Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $971.43 million, a PE ratio of 31.75 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.14 and a 200 day moving average of $18.99.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.47 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $463.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $489.01 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.021 dividend. This is an increase from Orion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Orion's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in Orion in the third quarter valued at about $4,620,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $21,001,000 after buying an additional 198,182 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $6,718,000 after buying an additional 52,807 shares during the period. Divisar Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Orion by 7.3% in the second quarter. Divisar Capital Management LLC now owns 805,082 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $17,663,000 after buying an additional 55,000 shares during the period. Finally, SIR Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Orion in the second quarter worth about $3,992,000. Institutional investors 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.