Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Stock Holdings Lifted by Foundry Partners LLC

Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 24.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 322,380 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,948 shares during the quarter. Foundry Partners LLC owned 0.56% of Orion worth $5,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Orion in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Orion by 1,578.7% during the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 4,415 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 4,152 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Orion in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $171,000. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in Orion in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $190,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in Orion during the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Orion

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones purchased 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,705.14. The trade was a 4.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Orion Trading Down 4.1 %

Orion stock opened at $11.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Orion S.A. has a 12 month low of $10.87 and a 12 month high of $26.05. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.57. The stock has a market cap of $650.05 million, a P/E ratio of 15.30 and a beta of 1.25.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $434.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $437.03 million. Orion had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 2.35%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is 10.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on OEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

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.