Orion (NYSE:OEC) Shares Down 5.2% - Time to Sell?

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) shares traded down 5.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $13.14 and last traded at $13.11. 203,604 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 532,535 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on OEC shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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.

Orion Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $763.13 million, a P/E ratio of 17.96 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.79.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.10. Orion had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 20.94%. The business had revenue of $434.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $437.03 million. On average, 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.0207 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Orion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.67%.

Insider Transactions at Orion

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones purchased 3,300 shares of Orion stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,705.14. This trade represents a 4.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Orion by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,461,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $54,664,000 after buying an additional 602,080 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in Orion by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,617,287 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $41,327,000 after acquiring an additional 265,184 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Orion by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,186,942 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $34,529,000 after acquiring an additional 233,342 shares during the last quarter. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC increased its stake in Orion by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC now owns 1,922,698 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,359,000 after acquiring an additional 320,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Orion by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,747,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $27,588,000 after purchasing an additional 188,131 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company's stock.

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.