CenterBook Partners LP Invests $5.30 Million in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 335,758 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $5,302,000. CenterBook Partners LP owned 0.58% of Orion as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Orion by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,461,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $54,664,000 after acquiring an additional 602,080 shares during the period. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Orion by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC now owns 1,922,698 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,359,000 after purchasing an additional 320,157 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Orion by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,747,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $27,588,000 after buying an additional 188,131 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Orion by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,692,299 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,721,000 after buying an additional 46,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Orion by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,301,158 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $23,178,000 after acquiring an additional 5,378 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Orion news, VP Carlos Quinones bought 3,300 shares of Orion stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 79,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,041,705.14. This trade represents a 4.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Orion Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE OEC traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $11.56. 92,714 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 503,313. 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 S.A. has a twelve month low of $10.50 and a twelve month high of $26.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $654.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 1.25.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. Orion's payout ratio is 10.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on OEC shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st.

Orion 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.