Mizuho Raises Orion (NYSE:OEC) Price Target to $26.00

Orion (NYSE:OEC) had its price target hoisted by Mizuho from $25.00 to $26.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

OEC has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com upgraded Orion from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Orion from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $28.00.

Orion Stock Up 0.8 %

OEC stock opened at $23.79 on Friday. Orion has a twelve month low of $19.32 and a twelve month high of $28.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $23.42 and its 200-day moving average is $23.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07 and a beta of 1.62.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $502.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $506.38 million. Orion had a net margin of 4.64% and a return on equity of 21.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Orion will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be given a $0.021 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 11th. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Orion

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Orion in the first quarter valued at $258,000. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Orion by 3.0% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 96,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,272,000 after buying an additional 2,800 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its position in Orion by 94.9% during the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 270,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,370,000 after buying an additional 131,902 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Orion by 11.0% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 26,441 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 2,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Orion by 51.8% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 67,503 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,588,000 after buying an additional 23,026 shares in the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.