CastleKnight Management LP Invests $1.57 Million in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

CastleKnight Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 99,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,565,000. CastleKnight Management LP owned 0.17% of Orion as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Orion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $171,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in Orion in the 4th quarter valued at $206,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Orion in the 4th quarter worth $211,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Orion during the fourth quarter worth $259,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Orion by 19.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company's stock.

Orion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OEC traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $10.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 905,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 514,542. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $588.53 million, a P/E ratio of 13.93 and a beta of 1.20. Orion S.A. has a 1-year low of $9.59 and a 1-year high of $26.05.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $477.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $486.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Orion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.67%.

Insider Transactions at Orion

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones bought 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the vice president now directly owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,705.14. This represents a 4.32 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.