96,973 Shares in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 96,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,531,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.17% of Orion as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Orion during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Orion by 4.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 875,275 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $15,589,000 after acquiring an additional 34,183 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in Orion by 129.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 25,321 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 14,286 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in Orion by 122.8% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 25,627 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 14,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Orion by 1,112.9% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 8,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 7,913 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company's stock.

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Orion Stock Performance

Shares of Orion stock traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $12.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,210,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 494,988. Orion S.A. has a one year low of $11.46 and a one year high of $26.05. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $13.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $683.25 million, a P/E ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Orion Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Orion's payout ratio is currently 10.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on OEC. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research 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 Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Carlos Quinones purchased 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,041,705.14. The trade was a 4.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.