Penn Capital Management Company LLC Purchases New Shares in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Penn Capital Management Company LLC bought a new position in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 568,306 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $8,974,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC owned approximately 0.98% of Orion as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in 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 last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in Orion by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 35,294 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Orion by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 25,351 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Orion by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 79,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,250,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Orion by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,577 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 3,630 shares during the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Orion

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones acquired 3,300 shares of the 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 directly owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,705.14. This represents a 4.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Orion Stock Performance

OEC stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $12.11. 399,832 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 510,518. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Orion S.A. has a 52-week low of $10.50 and a 52-week high of $26.05. The stock has a market cap of $686.08 million, a P/E ratio of 16.15 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's 50-day moving average is $12.92 and its 200 day moving average is $14.94.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $434.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $437.03 million. Orion had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 20.94%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be paid a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 11th. Orion's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OEC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Orion from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Thursday.

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.