T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Has $4.12 Million Stake in Orion S.A. $OEC

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. has significantly reduced its stake in Orion S.A. by 74.8%, now holding 318,376 shares valued at approximately $4.12 million.
• Various hedge funds have recently adjusted their positions in Orion, with Brown Advisory Inc. increasing its stake by 11.3% and ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC boosting its position by 526.4% in the fourth quarter.
• Analysts have varied ratings on Orion's stock, with price targets set as low as $9.00 by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and upgrades to "strong sell" from Zacks Research, reflecting uncertainty in the company's performance.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 74.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 318,376 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 944,232 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 0.57% of Orion worth $4,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Orion by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,617,287 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $41,327,000 after acquiring an additional 265,184 shares in the last quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC boosted its position in Orion by 526.4% during the fourth quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 313,188 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,945,000 after purchasing an additional 263,188 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 233,342 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Orion by 32.8% in 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. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Orion during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,443,000. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Orion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OEC traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $10.54. 421,784 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 676,726. The firm has a market capitalization of $591.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.05 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $10.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.10. Orion S.A. has a 52 week low of $9.03 and a 52 week high of $19.48.

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

Orion Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on OEC. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Orion from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $9.00 price objective (down previously from $10.00) on shares of Orion in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Orion to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Orion from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.