Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC Acquires Shares of 472,735 Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 472,735 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $7,464,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC owned about 0.82% of Orion at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of OEC. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Orion in the third quarter worth $27,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Orion during the 4th quarter worth $171,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Orion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Orion during the third quarter worth about $415,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Orion by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,911 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 3,646 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Orion Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:OEC traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $11.89. The stock had a trading volume of 445,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 506,053. Orion S.A. has a 1-year low of $10.50 and a 1-year high of $26.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $673.79 million, a PE ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.17.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $434.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $437.03 million. Orion had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 20.94%. Analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.0207 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Orion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones acquired 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.07 per share, with a total value of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,041,705.14. This trade represents a 4.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.