Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Stock Holdings Increased by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 560,606 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,793 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.97% of Orion worth $8,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Orion during the 4th quarter valued at about $171,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in Orion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Orion during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Orion by 18.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company's stock.

Orion Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of OEC traded down $0.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $10.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 456,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 539,339. The company has a market cap of $593.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $11.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.28. Orion S.A. has a twelve month low of $9.59 and a twelve month high of $25.24.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $477.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $486.06 million. Orion had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 20.94%. The company's revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be given a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 11th. Orion's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on OEC shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Orion from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Orion from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Insider Activity at Orion

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones bought 3,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 79,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,041,705.14. This represents a 4.32% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.