Orion (NYSE:OEC) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Orion (NYSE:OEC) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

OEC has been the topic of several other research reports. Mizuho started coverage on Orion in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Orion from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Orion has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.80.

Orion Stock Up 2.5 %

Orion stock opened at $24.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 1.64. Orion has a fifty-two week low of $19.32 and a fifty-two week high of $28.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $23.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.25.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $468.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $421.62 million. Orion had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. Analysts predict that Orion will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Orion

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Orion by 5.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,618,627 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,444,000 after buying an additional 89,319 shares during the period. Pantechnicon Advisors LLP lifted its position in Orion by 15.9% during the third quarter. Pantechnicon Advisors LLP now owns 800,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,024,000 after buying an additional 110,000 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Orion by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,291,485 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,483,000 after purchasing an additional 234,888 shares during the period. Renaissance Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Orion by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 104,675 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,227,000 after purchasing an additional 16,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Orion by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 31,063 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $661,000 after purchasing an additional 3,418 shares in the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.