American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Stake in Orion S.A. $OEC

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Orion S.A. by 8.2%, purchasing an additional 142,734 shares, bringing its total ownership to about 1,889,917 shares valued at $24.4 million.
• Despite the increase in holdings, Orion reported Q2 earnings of $0.32 EPS, which missed the consensus estimate of $0.36 EPS, with revenue down 2.2% year-over-year.
• A recent interim dividend of $0.0207 per share was announced, with a yield of approximately 80.0% and a payout ratio of 29.63%.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,889,917 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 142,734 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 3.36% of Orion worth $24,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Orion by 1,256.0% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 5,564 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Orion by 831.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 5,947 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Orion in the 4th quarter valued at about $159,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Orion in the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Orion in the 1st quarter valued at about $177,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on OEC shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Orion from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Orion from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $9.00 target price (down previously from $10.00) on shares of Orion in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Orion to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $12.00.

Orion Stock Performance

OEC traded down $0.13 during trading on Thursday, hitting $10.29. 47,390 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 596,874. The firm has a market capitalization of $577.73 million, a P/E ratio of 38.15 and a beta of 1.10. Orion S.A. has a 1-year low of $9.03 and a 1-year high of $19.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.04). Orion had a net margin of 0.82% and a return on equity of 16.67%. The company had revenue of $466.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $475.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a interim dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 80.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Orion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.63%.

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.