Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stock Position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,186,942 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 233,342 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 3.79% of Orion worth $34,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Orion in the 4th quarter worth $171,000. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Orion during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Orion by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,911 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 3,646 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Orion by 9.2% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Orion by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 27,405 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 8,969 shares during the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Orion Stock Up 4.2 %

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

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Orion had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 2.35%. The firm had revenue of $477.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $486.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Orion's revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.0207 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 11th. Orion's payout ratio is currently 10.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones bought 3,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.07 per share, with a total value of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 79,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,041,705.14. The trade was a 4.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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.