Orion (NYSE:OEC) Shares Up 3.2% - Should You Buy?

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) shares shot up 3.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $17.90 and last traded at $17.85. 48,500 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 444,980 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Orion from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday. StockNews.com cut Orion from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Orion Stock Up 2.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.28 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm's 50-day moving average is $16.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.13.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $463.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $489.01 million. Orion had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 18.97%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.021 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Orion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Orion's payout ratio is currently 15.09%.

Insider Transactions at Orion

In other news, CEO Corning F. Painter bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.69 per share, with a total value of $176,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 958,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,960,747.44. This trade represents a 1.05 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Orion

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OEC. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Orion by 315.3% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 54,494 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,282,000 after acquiring an additional 41,372 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Orion by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,807,942 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $42,523,000 after purchasing an additional 77,952 shares in the last quarter. Divisar Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Orion by 7.3% during the 2nd 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. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Orion by 19.8% in the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 324,391 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $7,117,000 after buying an additional 53,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SIR Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Orion in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,992,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.