Orion (NYSE:OEC) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Orion (NYSE:OEC) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

OEC has been the topic of several other reports. Zacks Research downgraded Orion from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group increased their target price on Orion from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Orion from $4.50 to $5.25 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Orion from $9.00 to $5.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $5.58.

Orion Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of OEC opened at $4.70 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.21. The company has a market cap of $264.41 million, a P/E ratio of -3.73 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. Orion has a twelve month low of $4.34 and a twelve month high of $13.93.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.34) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.26). Orion had a positive return on equity of 6.52% and a negative net margin of 3.88%.The firm had revenue of $411.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.79 million. As a group, analysts expect that Orion will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Orion

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CenterBook Partners LP raised its position in shares of Orion by 53.9% during the 2nd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 294,093 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,085,000 after buying an additional 103,021 shares during the period. Harvey Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Orion by 15.5% in the second quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 2,424,995 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,438,000 after acquiring an additional 325,995 shares during the last quarter. Divisar Capital Management LLC grew its position in Orion by 10.9% in the third quarter. Divisar Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $18,574,000 after acquiring an additional 241,160 shares during the period. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Orion in the second quarter worth approximately $575,000. Finally, CSM Advisors LLC increased its stake in Orion by 106.5% during the third quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 539,961 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,092,000 after acquiring an additional 278,501 shares during the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Orion

Orion Engineered Carbons SA, operating as Orion (NYSE: OEC), is a global producer of carbon black, a critical performance additive used to enhance the strength, durability and conductivity of various materials. The company’s products chiefly serve the tire and rubber industry, where carbon black imparts wear resistance and longevity, as well as the plastics, coatings, inks and battery components markets, where specialty grades deliver tailored conductivity and color properties.

Orion’s product portfolio is organized into two core segments: Rubber and Specialty and Chemical Specialties.