Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Holdings Lifted by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 11.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,637 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,396 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Orion were worth $243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OEC. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Orion by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 34,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Orion by 4.8% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,040 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Orion by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,956 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Orion by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,949 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in shares of Orion by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 48,291 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,060,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Orion Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of OEC stock opened at $17.94 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.99. Orion S.A. has a twelve month low of $14.94 and a twelve month high of $28.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.84 and a beta of 1.48.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $463.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $489.01 million. Orion had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 18.97%. As a group, research analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.021 dividend. This is an increase from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Orion from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th.

Insider Transactions at Orion

In related news, CEO Corning F. Painter bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.69 per share, with a total value of $176,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 958,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,960,747.44. The trade was a 1.05 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Orion 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.