Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Orion S.A. $OEC

Key Points

• Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Orion S.A. by 49.2%, acquiring an additional 90,138 shares, bringing their total to 273,182 shares, valued at approximately $3.53 million.
• Orion reported a missed earnings estimate for the quarter with an EPS of $0.32, under the consensus of $0.36, and a revenue of $466.4 million, lower than the expected $475.77 million.
• The company announced an interim dividend of $0.0207 per share, which will be paid on October 8th, reflecting a dividend yield of 80.0%.

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 49.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 273,182 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 90,138 shares during the quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.49% of Orion worth $3,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in OEC. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in Orion by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 27,405 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 8,969 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Orion during the fourth quarter valued at $1,531,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Orion by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 103,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,634,000 after buying an additional 8,010 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Orion by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 186,849 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,950,000 after buying an additional 55,965 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Orion by 11.9% during 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 buying an additional 233,342 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company's stock.

Orion Stock Up 5.4%

Shares of OEC stock traded up $0.5550 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.7450. The company's stock had a trading volume of 800,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 666,459. Orion S.A. has a 52-week low of $9.03 and a 52-week high of $19.48. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $10.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $603.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.80 and a beta of 1.10.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.04). Orion had a return on equity of 16.67% and a net margin of 0.82%.The firm had revenue of $466.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $475.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a interim dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Shareholders 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 80.0%. Orion's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Orion Company 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.