Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 29,518 Shares of Orion S.A. $OEC

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Orion S.A. by 47.6%, now owning approximately 32,521 shares valued at $420,000 after selling 29,518 shares in Q1.
• Orion's recent quarterly earnings report showed a loss of $0.04 per share compared to estimates, with revenues of $466.4 million, which is down 2.2% from the same quarter last year.
• The company declared an interim dividend of $0.0207 per share, with a yield of 80.0% and a dividend payout ratio of 29.63%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 47.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,521 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 29,518 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.06% of Orion worth $420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Orion by 1,256.0% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 5,564 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Orion by 831.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 5,947 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Orion in the fourth quarter valued at about $159,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Orion during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $177,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Orion during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $211,000. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Orion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OEC traded up $0.06 during trading on Thursday, reaching $10.13. The company had a trading volume of 155,307 shares, compared to its average volume of 595,035. The company has a fifty day moving average of $10.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $568.52 million, a P/E ratio of 37.50 and a beta of 1.05. Orion S.A. has a 12 month low of $9.03 and a 12 month high of $19.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

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

Orion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 80.0%. Orion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.