Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 96,973 Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 96,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,531,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.17% of Orion at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,775 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Orion by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 25,351 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Orion by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 79,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Orion by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,911 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 3,646 shares during the period. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its position in Orion by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 140,037 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,211,000 after buying an additional 6,230 shares in the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Orion Stock Performance

OEC stock traded down $1.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $10.19. 346,629 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 545,981. The stock has a market capitalization of $573.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 1.20. Orion S.A. has a 52 week low of $9.59 and a 52 week high of $26.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

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

Orion Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.0207 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 11th. Orion's payout ratio is 10.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Orion news, VP Carlos Quinones acquired 3,300 shares of Orion stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,705.14. This represents a 4.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on OEC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Orion from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

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.