Boston Partners Raises Position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 25.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 912,652 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 184,139 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned approximately 1.58% of Orion worth $14,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Orion during the 3rd quarter worth $4,620,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Orion by 320.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 95,512 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,700,000 after purchasing an additional 72,793 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Orion by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,301,158 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $23,178,000 after buying an additional 5,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Orion by 86.6% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 75,867 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,352,000 after buying an additional 35,207 shares in the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Orion Stock Performance

Shares of OEC traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $13.71. 401,567 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 476,396. Orion S.A. has a twelve month low of $12.51 and a twelve month 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 has a market capitalization of $776.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.27 and a beta of 1.52. The business's 50-day moving average price is $14.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.79.

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

Orion Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.0207 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Orion's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones acquired 3,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.07 per share, with a total value of $43,131.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,041,705.14. The trade was a 4.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Orion Company 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.