The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,337 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 669 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Orion were worth $505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC boosted its position in Orion by 207.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,412 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in Orion during the 2nd quarter worth about $54,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Orion in the 3rd quarter valued at about $69,000. Quarry LP raised its position in Orion by 76.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,776 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 2,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Orion in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $140,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Orion Price Performance

Shares of Orion stock opened at $17.38 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.79 and a beta of 1.51. Orion S.A. has a 12 month low of $14.94 and a 12 month high of $28.48.

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

Orion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.021 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on OEC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Orion from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com cut 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.