Orion (NYSE:OEC) Upgraded to "Overweight" at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Orion (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $21.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company's stock, up from their previous price objective of $20.00.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Orion from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Orion Stock Performance

Shares of OEC traded up $1.98 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $17.65. The company had a trading volume of 732,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 439,565. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.62 and a 200-day moving average of $20.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.51 and a beta of 1.48. Orion has a 12 month low of $14.94 and a 12 month high of $28.48.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Orion had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 1.67%. The company had revenue of $463.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $489.01 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Orion will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.021 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Orion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Orion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Corning F. Painter bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.69 per share, with a total value of $176,900.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 958,776 shares in the company, valued at $16,960,747.44. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Orion by 207.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Orion in the second quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Orion by 1,375.1% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Orion during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in Orion by 76.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,776 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 2,076 shares during the last quarter. 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.