Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Shares Sold by Balyasny Asset Management L.P.

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. trimmed its position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 55.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Orion in the fourth quarter valued at $171,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Orion during the 4th quarter worth about $206,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Orion during the fourth quarter worth approximately $211,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Orion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Orion by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,577 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,630 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Orion from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Orion from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $18.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Orion Stock Performance

NYSE:OEC traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $10.90. 32,654 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 534,329. The stock has a market capitalization of $613.40 million, a P/E ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 1.20. Orion S.A. has a 1 year low of $9.59 and a 1 year high of $25.75. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.36. 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 (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.31). The business had revenue of $477.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $486.06 million. Orion had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 2.35%. The business's revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be paid 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 yield of 0.76%. Orion's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones purchased 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 79,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,041,705.14. This trade represents a 4.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

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.