Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Holdings Raised by Denali Advisors LLC

Denali Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 100.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 16,400 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Orion were worth $717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of OEC. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Orion by 3.8% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,724,139 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $59,768,000 after acquiring an additional 99,613 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Orion by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,877,706 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,197,000 after purchasing an additional 80,266 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Orion by 18.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,347,138 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,556,000 after buying an additional 210,990 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Orion by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 899,341 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $24,939,000 after buying an additional 53,720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Orion news, Director Dan F. Smith bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.53 per share, with a total value of $46,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 78,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,459,645.16. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Orion news, Director Dan F. Smith acquired 2,500 shares of Orion stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.53 per share, with a total value of $46,325.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 78,772 shares in the company, valued at $1,459,645.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Corning F. Painter bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.48 per share, for a total transaction of $349,600.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 948,776 shares in the company, valued at $16,584,604.48. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 47,500 shares of company stock worth $845,225. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Orion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OEC opened at $17.20 on Wednesday. Orion S.A. has a 52-week low of $15.54 and a 52-week high of $28.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.11.

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

Orion Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is 5.41%.

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.