Foundry Partners LLC Buys Shares of 259,432 Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 259,432 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $4,620,000. Foundry Partners LLC owned approximately 0.44% of Orion at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Orion by 24.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 82,647 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,944,000 after acquiring an additional 16,077 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Orion by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,956 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Orion by 4.5% during 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. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Orion by 315.3% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 54,494 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,282,000 after buying an additional 41,372 shares during the period. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Orion during the first quarter worth $221,000. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Orion Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of OEC stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $18.05. The company had a trading volume of 349,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 449,261. Orion S.A. has a 1-year low of $14.94 and a 1-year high of $28.48. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $16.75 and a 200 day moving average of $19.92.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $463.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $489.01 million. Orion had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 18.97%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.021 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. This is a boost from Orion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Orion's payout ratio is currently 15.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on OEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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 report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Orion from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note 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.