Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC grew its stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,946,739 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,041 shares during the period. Orion makes up about 3.5% of Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC owned approximately 3.44% of Orion worth $25,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in Orion in the 1st quarter valued at $377,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Orion by 1,256.0% in the first 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 during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Orion by 30.3% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 3,046 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Orion by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 83,511 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,080,000 after buying an additional 4,334 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Orion by 85,560.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,985 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 23,957 shares during the period. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Orion Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of OEC traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.28. 537,395 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 597,489. Orion S.A. has a 52-week low of $9.59 and a 52-week high of $24.85. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $634.73 million, a P/E ratio of 24.52 and a beta of 1.07.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $477.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $486.06 million. Orion had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 1.44%. Orion's revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a interim dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a yield of 0.8%. Orion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OEC has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. UBS Group lowered their price target on Orion from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

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.