Harspring Capital Management LLC Sells 345,000 Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Harspring Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 61.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 220,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 345,000 shares during the quarter. Orion makes up about 1.0% of Harspring Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Harspring Capital Management LLC owned about 0.38% of Orion worth $3,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Orion by 148.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 151,205 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,693,000 after purchasing an additional 90,292 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Orion by 320.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 95,512 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,700,000 after acquiring an additional 72,793 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Orion by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,301,158 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $23,178,000 after acquiring an additional 5,378 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Orion by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 717,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $11,327,000 after acquiring an additional 110,911 shares during the period. Finally, Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Orion by 72.1% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC now owns 69,461 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 29,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on OEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group decreased their target price on Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Orion Stock Performance

NYSE:OEC traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $11.89. 445,658 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 507,667. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $13.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $673.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 1.25. Orion S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $10.50 and a fifty-two week 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.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.10. Orion had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 2.35%. The company had revenue of $434.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $437.03 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Orion's payout ratio is presently 10.67%.

Insider Transactions at Orion

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones purchased 3,300 shares of Orion stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.07 per share, with a total value of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 79,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,041,705.14. This represents a 4.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

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.