Orion S.A. $OEC Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Orion S.A. by 7.1%, selling 132,285 shares, and now owns approximately 3.09% of the company valued at $22.49 million.
• Orion missed its quarterly earnings estimate with $0.32 EPS, falling short of the consensus of $0.36, and reported a revenue decline of 2.2% compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.0207 per share, set to be paid on October 8th, representing a yield of 80.0% at the time of announcement.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,739,455 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 132,285 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 3.09% of Orion worth $22,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in Orion by 480.2% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 218,989 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,832,000 after buying an additional 181,245 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Orion by 23.2% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 3,863 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Orion by 0.8% in the first quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 450,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,818,000 after purchasing an additional 3,450 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Orion by 5.4% in the first quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 335,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,339,000 after purchasing an additional 17,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Orion by 31.8% in the first quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 290,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,751,000 after purchasing an additional 69,924 shares in the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Orion Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of OEC traded down $0.33 on Wednesday, hitting $10.09. 383,572 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 643,725. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $566.27 million, a P/E ratio of 37.35 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's 50 day moving average is $10.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.60. Orion S.A. has a 1 year low of $9.03 and a 1 year high of $19.48.

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 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 company had revenue of $466.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $475.77 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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