Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Purchases 69,924 Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Key Points

• Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. has increased its stake in Orion S.A. by 31.8%, owning 290,108 shares valued at approximately $3.75 million following the purchase of an additional 69,924 shares in the first quarter.
• Orion S.A. reported a loss in earnings per share for the last quarter, with actual earnings at $0.22, missing analysts' expectations of $0.53, alongside a 5% decline in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.
• Orion S.A. has declared an interim dividend of $0.0207 per share to be paid on October 8th, 2023, representing a dividend yield of 0.8%.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 31.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 290,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 69,924 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned 0.52% of Orion worth $3,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Orion by 1,256.0% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 5,564 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Orion by 831.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 5,947 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Orion during the fourth quarter worth about $159,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Orion during the fourth quarter worth about $171,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Orion during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on OEC. UBS Group lowered their price objective on 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. downgraded Orion from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Orion from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th.

Orion Trading Up 0.1%

OEC traded up $0.02 during trading on Monday, hitting $11.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 59,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 588,347. Orion S.A. has a twelve month low of $9.59 and a twelve month high of $24.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $10.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $638.95 million, a P/E ratio of 24.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.31). Orion had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The business had revenue of $477.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $486.06 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Orion's quarterly revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a interim dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.8%. Orion's dividend payout ratio is 17.39%.

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.