Rhumbline Advisers Increases Stock Position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 79,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 2,245 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Orion were worth $1,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Orion by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,647,985 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $64,971,000 after purchasing an additional 954,398 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Orion during the third quarter worth $4,620,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Orion by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,179,181 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,001,000 after buying an additional 198,182 shares during the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC increased its stake in Orion by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 1,696,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,206,000 after buying an additional 146,500 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Orion by 148.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 151,205 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,693,000 after buying an additional 90,292 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on OEC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group lowered 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.

Orion Price Performance

Orion stock opened at $13.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.24. Orion S.A. has a one year low of $12.56 and a one year high of $26.05. The company has a market cap of $765.96 million, a P/E ratio of 18.03 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $14.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.21.

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

Orion Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. 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.