Is Now An Opportune Moment To Examine Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)?

While Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) might not have the largest market cap around , it received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the NYSE over the last few months, increasing to US$24.62 at one point, and dropping to the lows of US$16.09. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Orion's current trading price of US$17.20 reflective of the actual value of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Orion’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.

View our latest analysis for Orion

What Is Orion Worth?

Great news for investors – Orion is still trading at a fairly cheap price according to our price multiple model, where we compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. In this instance, we’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. we find that Orion’s ratio of 12.82x is below its peer average of 26.06x, which indicates the stock is trading at a lower price compared to the Chemicals industry. What’s more interesting is that, Orion’s share price is quite volatile, which gives us more chances to buy since the share price could sink lower (or rise higher) in the future. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market.

Can we expect growth from Orion?

Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. Though in the case of Orion, it is expected to deliver a relatively unexciting earnings growth of 3.6%, which doesn’t help build up its investment thesis. Growth doesn’t appear to be a main reason for a buy decision for Orion, at least in the near term.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? Even though growth is relatively muted, since OEC is currently trading below the industry PE ratio, it may be a great time to increase your holdings in the stock. However, there are also other factors such as capital structure to consider, which could explain the current price multiple.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on OEC for a while, now might be the time to make a leap. Its future profit outlook isn’t fully reflected in the current share price yet, which means it’s not too late to buy OEC. But before you make any investment decisions, consider other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to make a well-informed assessment.

If you want to dive deeper into Orion, you'd also look into what risks it is currently facing. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Orion and we think they deserve your attention.

If you are no longer interested in Orion, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.