Dean Investment Associates LLC Sells 49,731 Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Dean Investment Associates LLC decreased its position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 52.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,961 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 49,731 shares during the period. Dean Investment Associates LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Orion worth $710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Orion by 148.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 151,205 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,693,000 after acquiring an additional 90,292 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Orion during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Orion by 320.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 95,512 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,700,000 after buying an additional 72,793 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Orion by 0.4% during 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 during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Orion by 3.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 57,672 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares during the period. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Orion Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE OEC traded up $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 80,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 557,367. The company has a market cap of $695.14 million, a PE ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 1.25. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $13.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.05. Orion S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $10.49 and a fifty-two week high of $26.05.

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

Orion Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Orion's payout ratio is 10.67%.

Insider Activity at Orion

In other news, VP Carlos Quinones acquired 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,705.14. This trade represents a 4.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

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.