Readystate Asset Management LP Makes New Investment in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 32,921 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $426,000. Readystate Asset Management LP owned approximately 0.06% of Orion as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in shares of Orion by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 16,593 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 5,061 shares during the period. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Orion by 169.0% in the first quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC now owns 186,821 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,416,000 after purchasing an additional 117,360 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Orion by 1.4% in the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 326,803 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,226,000 after purchasing an additional 4,423 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Orion by 0.5% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,328,902 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $43,043,000 after purchasing an additional 16,612 shares during the period. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its stake in Orion by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 145,965 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 5,928 shares during the period. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on OEC shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Orion from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Orion from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Orion from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $12.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th.

Orion Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of OEC stock traded down $0.26 on Thursday, hitting $11.26. The stock had a trading volume of 531,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 561,377. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $633.49 million, a P/E ratio of 24.47 and a beta of 1.07. Orion S.A. has a 1 year low of $9.59 and a 1 year high of $24.85. The company's 50 day moving average price is $10.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.42.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.31). The business had revenue of $477.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $486.06 million. Orion had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The company's revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a interim dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a yield of 0.8%. Orion's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.39%.

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.