Quantbot Technologies LP Sells 19,628 Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Quantbot Technologies LP lowered its holdings in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 77.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,693 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 19,628 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Orion were worth $90,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Orion during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Orion by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 57,672 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $984,000 after buying an additional 1,775 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Orion by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 25,351 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Orion by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 79,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after buying an additional 2,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted 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 worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 3,646 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Orion

In other news, VP Carlos Quinones bought 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.07 per share, with a total value of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at $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 hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on OEC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group reduced their price objective 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.

Orion Stock Down 0.0 %

Orion stock opened at $12.94 on Tuesday. Orion S.A. has a 12 month low of $12.51 and a 12 month high of $26.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market cap of $732.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25 and a beta of 1.52.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $434.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $437.03 million. Orion had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 2.35%. Equities analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Orion’s payout ratio is 10.67%.

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.