Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Has $4.99 Million Stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 92.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 227,539 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 109,599 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned about 0.39% of Orion worth $4,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Orion by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,724,139 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $59,768,000 after purchasing an additional 99,613 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Orion by 4.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,877,706 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $41,197,000 after acquiring an additional 80,266 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Orion by 4.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,807,942 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $42,523,000 after acquiring an additional 77,952 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Orion by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,347,138 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $29,556,000 after acquiring an additional 210,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grizzlyrock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Orion in the 4th quarter valued at about $23,586,000. Institutional investors own 94.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on OEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Orion from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised Orion from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday.

Orion Trading Up 1.1 %

OEC stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.79. 313,944 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 435,003. Orion S.A. has a 52-week low of $15.54 and a 52-week high of $28.48. The stock's fifty day moving average is $18.49 and its 200-day moving average is $21.82. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $477.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $491.14 million. Orion had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 19.21%. The firm's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Orion S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.021 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. This is a positive change from Orion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Orion's payout ratio is presently 5.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Orion news, Director Dan F. Smith bought 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.53 per share, for a total transaction of $46,325.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 78,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,459,645.16. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Corning F. Painter acquired 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.48 per share, for a total transaction of $349,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 948,776 shares in the company, valued at $16,584,604.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dan F. Smith acquired 2,500 shares of Orion stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.53 per share, with a total value of $46,325.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 78,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,459,645.16. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 47,500 shares of company stock valued at $845,225. Corporate insiders own 6.30% 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.