Trexquant Investment LP Acquires 180,301 Shares of Orion S.A. $OEC

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has significantly increased its stake in Orion S.A. by 1,380.1%, now holding approximately 0.34% of the company's shares valued at $2.50 million.
• Orion reported Q2 earnings of $0.32 per share, missing analysts' expectations, with revenue of $466.40 million, a decline of 2.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced an interim dividend of $0.0207 per share, with a payout ratio of 29.63%, to be paid on October 8th.

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its position in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 1,380.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 193,365 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 180,301 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.34% of Orion worth $2,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in Orion during the first quarter valued at about $377,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Orion by 30.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 3,046 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Orion by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 694,579 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $10,967,000 after buying an additional 117,022 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Orion by 5.5% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 83,511 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,080,000 after buying an additional 4,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in Orion during the fourth quarter valued at about $382,000. Institutional investors own 94.33% of the company's stock.

Orion Stock Down 1.0%

Orion stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 54,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 591,152. The firm's 50 day moving average is $10.59 and its 200 day moving average is $11.46. The company has a market cap of $585.81 million, a PE ratio of 38.67 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.64. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.67% and a net margin of 0.82%.The firm had revenue of $466.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $475.77 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.0207 per share. 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 presently 29.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Orion to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $9.00 price target (down previously from $10.00) on shares of Orion in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Orion from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Orion currently 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.