Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 78.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,593 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 119,014 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.06% of Orion worth $530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Orion by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,461,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $54,664,000 after acquiring an additional 602,080 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Orion by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,186,942 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $34,529,000 after purchasing an additional 233,342 shares during the last quarter. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Orion by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC now owns 1,922,698 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,359,000 after purchasing an additional 320,157 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Orion by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,747,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $27,588,000 after acquiring an additional 188,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Orion by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,692,299 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $26,721,000 after acquiring an additional 46,939 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company's stock.

Orion Trading Down 3.3%

NYSE OEC traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $10.92. 572,996 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 555,561. The firm has a market capitalization of $614.47 million, a P/E ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.24. The business's 50 day moving average is $11.43 and its 200-day moving average is $13.64. Orion S.A. has a 12-month low of $9.59 and a 12-month high of $24.85.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.22 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 analyst estimates of $486.06 million. Orion had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 2.35%. The business's revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be paid a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Orion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Orion from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Orion from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

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.