Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Orion S.A. $OEC

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Orion S.A. by 55.8%, now holding 201,182 shares worth approximately $2.6 million.
• The company recently announced an interim dividend of $0.0207, yielding 80.0%, with the payment date set for October 8th.
• Orion's last earnings report revealed $0.32 earnings per share, missing analysts' expectations, and a quarterly revenue of $466.4 million, which was below predictions.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 55.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 201,182 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 254,340 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.36% of Orion worth $2,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of OEC. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Orion during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,019,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Orion by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 928,425 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $14,660,000 after purchasing an additional 229,156 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Orion during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,443,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Orion during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,723,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Orion by 480.2% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 218,989 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,832,000 after purchasing an additional 181,245 shares in the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Orion Stock Performance

Shares of Orion stock traded down $1.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $9.31. 886,662 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 466,938. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.38. Orion S.A. has a 52-week low of $9.03 and a 52-week high of $19.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $522.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Orion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a interim dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a yield of 80.0%. Orion's payout ratio is presently 29.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on OEC. Mizuho restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of Orion in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $9.00 target price (down from $10.00) on shares of Orion in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Orion to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $11.67.

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.