Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Shares Acquired by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 32.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 928,425 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 229,156 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 1.61% of Orion worth $14,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Orion by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 717,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $11,327,000 after purchasing an additional 110,911 shares during the period. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Orion by 72.1% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC now owns 69,461 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 29,100 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Orion by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,747,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $27,588,000 after purchasing an additional 188,131 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Orion by 3.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 57,672 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Orion during the fourth quarter worth about $171,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company's stock.

Orion Trading Up 4.4%

Shares of OEC opened at $11.14 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $12.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.52. Orion S.A. has a twelve month low of $9.59 and a twelve month high of $26.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $626.85 million, a P/E ratio of 14.85 and a beta of 1.20.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.31). The firm had revenue of $477.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $486.06 million. Orion had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 20.94%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be paid a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 11th. Orion's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.39%.

Insider Activity at Orion

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones acquired 3,300 shares of Orion stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,705.14. This trade represents a 4.32% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on OEC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Orion from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $18.00 to $12.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Orion from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

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.

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