Renaissance Technologies LLC Reduces Position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 582,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 41,200 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 1.01% of Orion worth $9,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Orion in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Orion by 3.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 57,672 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $984,000 after buying an additional 1,775 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in Orion by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 25,351 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Orion by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 79,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,250,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Orion by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,911 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 3,646 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Orion

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones bought 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, with a total value of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 79,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,705.14. This represents a 4.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Orion Trading Up 1.5 %

OEC stock opened at $11.89 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. The company has a market cap of $673.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.17. Orion S.A. has a 52 week low of $10.50 and a 52 week high of $26.05.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $434.20 million during 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.67%.

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.