Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Position Boosted by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 86.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 75,867 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,207 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Orion were worth $1,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Orion by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,807,942 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,523,000 after buying an additional 77,952 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Orion by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,179,181 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $21,001,000 after buying an additional 198,182 shares in the last quarter. Divisar Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Orion by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Divisar Capital Management LLC now owns 805,082 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,663,000 after buying an additional 55,000 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Orion by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 377,198 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,718,000 after buying an additional 52,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SIR Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Orion in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,992,000. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Orion Price Performance

NYSE OEC opened at $18.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.75 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.62. Orion S.A. has a 52-week low of $14.94 and a 52-week high of $28.48.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $463.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $489.01 million. Orion had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 18.97%. Equities research analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.021 per share. This is a boost from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on OEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Orion from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com lowered Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th.

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.