Quantbot Technologies LP Has $766,000 Position in Orion S.A. $OEC

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP significantly increased its holdings in Orion S.A. by 940.9%, owning 59,256 shares worth $766,000 after acquiring an additional 53,563 shares in the first quarter.
• A series of large investors, including Brown Advisory Inc. and ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC, also boosted their stakes in Orion, indicating increased institutional interest in the company.
• Orion recently reported a 0.32 EPS for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations, and declared an interim dividend with a yield of 80.0% to be paid in October.

Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 940.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,256 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 53,563 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP owned 0.11% of Orion worth $766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Orion by 1,256.0% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 5,564 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Orion by 831.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 5,947 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Orion in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $159,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Orion in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Orion in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $177,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company's stock.

Orion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OEC traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $10.47. 559,916 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 600,067. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. Orion S.A. has a 12 month low of $9.03 and a 12 month high of $19.48. The company's 50 day moving average price is $10.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $588.06 million, a PE ratio of 38.79 and a beta of 1.10.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $466.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $475.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a interim dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.0207 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 80.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Orion's payout ratio is currently 29.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.