First Trust Advisors LP Buys 55,965 Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 42.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 186,849 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 55,965 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.32% of Orion worth $2,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Orion by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,461,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $54,664,000 after acquiring an additional 602,080 shares in the last quarter. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC lifted its position in Orion by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC now owns 1,922,698 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $30,359,000 after buying an additional 320,157 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Orion by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,747,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $27,588,000 after acquiring an additional 188,131 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Orion by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,692,299 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,721,000 after acquiring an additional 46,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Orion by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 960,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $15,164,000 after purchasing an additional 85,074 shares in the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OEC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Orion from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Orion from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday.

Orion Stock Up 0.8 %

OEC stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.11. 205,120 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 510,779. The firm has a market cap of $569.39 million, a P/E ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 1.20. Orion S.A. has a 1-year low of $9.59 and a 1-year high of $26.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $12.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.63.

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

Orion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be given a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 11th. Orion's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.67%.

Insider Activity

In other Orion news, VP Carlos Quinones purchased 3,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,705.14. The trade was a 4.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.