Orion (NYSE:OEC) Reaches New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $13.14 and last traded at $13.15, with a volume of 393554 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $13.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OEC has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Orion Price Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $14.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.20. 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 stock has a market cap of $782.22 million, a P/E ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 1.50.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $434.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $437.03 million. Orion had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 20.94%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

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Orion Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.0207 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Orion's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Orion

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Orion by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 32,760 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Orion by 11.4% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,637 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Orion during the third quarter worth $27,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Orion by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 57,672 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Orion by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 35,294 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares during the period. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.