Orion (NYSE:OEC) Sets New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $14.66 and last traded at $14.71, with a volume of 28827 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Orion Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $16.85 and a 200 day moving average of $18.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $847.91 million, a P/E ratio of 27.72 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 18.97% and a net margin of 1.67%. The firm had revenue of $463.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $489.01 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Orion

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Orion by 35.4% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,647,985 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $64,971,000 after purchasing an additional 954,398 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in Orion by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,724,139 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $59,768,000 after buying an additional 99,613 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake 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 valued at $41,197,000 after acquiring an additional 80,266 shares in the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Orion by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 1,696,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $30,206,000 after acquiring an additional 146,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Orion by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,347,138 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $29,556,000 after acquiring an additional 210,990 shares in the last quarter. 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.