Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Shares Bought by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 960,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 85,074 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.66% of Orion worth $15,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Orion by 148.2% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 151,205 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,693,000 after purchasing an additional 90,292 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Orion during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,620,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position 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 worth $1,700,000 after acquiring an additional 72,793 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $23,178,000 after acquiring an additional 5,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 35,207 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at Orion

In other news, VP Carlos Quinones acquired 3,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Orion Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE OEC traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $13.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 401,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 476,445. The firm has a market capitalization of $776.44 million, a P/E ratio of 18.27 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Orion S.A. has a 52-week low of $12.51 and a 52-week high of $26.05. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $14.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.82.

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

Orion Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Orion's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.67%.

About Orion

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.