Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Shares Sold by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd reduced its holdings in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 70.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,532 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 28,109 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Orion were worth $182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Orion in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd grew its position in shares of Orion by 1,578.7% in the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 4,415 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Orion by 1,112.9% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 8,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 7,913 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Orion during the third quarter worth about $190,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Orion during the 3rd quarter worth about $190,000. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OEC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

Orion Stock Performance

NYSE:OEC opened at $13.52 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $765.96 million, a P/E ratio of 18.03 and a beta of 1.50. Orion S.A. has a twelve month low of $12.56 and a twelve month high of $26.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $14.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $434.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $437.03 million. Orion had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 20.94%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.0207 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.