Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Stock Position Lifted by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 84.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 178,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 81,400 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Orion were worth $3,905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of OEC. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Orion by 207.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,412 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Orion by 1,375.1% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Orion during the 1st quarter worth approximately $104,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Orion during the 1st quarter worth approximately $221,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Orion by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,956 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Orion

In other Orion news, CEO Corning F. Painter bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.69 per share, for a total transaction of $176,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 958,776 shares in the company, valued at $16,960,747.44. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Corning F. Painter purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.48 per share, for a total transaction of $349,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 948,776 shares in the company, valued at $16,584,604.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Corning F. Painter purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.69 per share, for a total transaction of $176,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 958,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,960,747.44. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 47,500 shares of company stock worth $845,225 in the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on OEC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Orion from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com cut Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th.

Orion Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Orion stock opened at $16.15 on Thursday. Orion S.A. has a twelve month low of $15.54 and a twelve month high of $28.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $942.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 1.47. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.28.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.18). Orion had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 19.21%. The business had revenue of $477.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $491.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Orion S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.41%.

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.