Kennedy Capital Management LLC Has $2.91 Million Stock Position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC cut its position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 27.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 184,238 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 68,937 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned 0.32% of Orion worth $2,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Orion in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Orion by 3.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Orion by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 25,351 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Orion by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 79,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Orion by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,911 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 3,646 shares in the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Orion Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE OEC traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $11.89. The stock had a trading volume of 445,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 507,126. The firm has a market cap of $673.79 million, a P/E ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 1.25. Orion S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $10.50 and a fifty-two week high of $26.05. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $13.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.13.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Orion had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 2.35%. The firm had revenue of $434.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $437.03 million. Research analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Orion

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones acquired 3,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.07 per share, with a total value of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,705.14. This trade represents a 4.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on OEC shares. 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. UBS Group dropped 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.

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.