Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Sells 26,846 Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. decreased its stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 55.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,158 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 26,846 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Orion were worth $334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Orion by 3.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 57,672 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,775 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,646 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Orion by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 25,351 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Orion by 72.1% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC now owns 69,461 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,097,000 after buying an additional 29,100 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Orion by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 79,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,250,000 after buying an additional 2,245 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.33% of the company's stock.

Orion Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:OEC traded up $0.39 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.51. 724,590 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 533,141. Orion S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $9.59 and a fifty-two week high of $26.05. The stock has a market cap of $647.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $12.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.40.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.31). Orion had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 20.94%. The firm had revenue of $477.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $486.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. The business's revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be given a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Orion's payout ratio is 17.39%.

Insider Transactions at Orion

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones purchased 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.07 per share, with a total value of $43,131.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,705.14. The trade was a 4.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OEC has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on Orion from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Orion from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $12.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th.

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.