Intech Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 15,711 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Orion by 207.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,412 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in Orion during the second quarter valued at $54,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Orion during the third quarter valued at $69,000. Quarry LP increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Orion during the second quarter valued at $140,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Orion Stock Performance

OEC stock opened at $18.35 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.62 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.48. Orion S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $14.94 and a fifty-two week high of $28.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

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

Orion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.021 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Orion’s payout ratio is 15.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on OEC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Orion from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Orion Company Profile

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.