Schroder Investment Management Group Cuts Stock Position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Schroder Investment Management Group cut its stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 972,676 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 193,995 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned 1.69% of Orion worth $14,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Orion by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,461,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $54,664,000 after buying an additional 602,080 shares during the last quarter. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC raised its stake in Orion by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC now owns 1,922,698 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $30,359,000 after acquiring an additional 320,157 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Orion by 414.7% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 239,693 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,785,000 after acquiring an additional 193,126 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Orion by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,747,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $27,588,000 after acquiring an additional 188,131 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Orion by 583.7% during the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 220,184 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,477,000 after purchasing an additional 187,977 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company's stock.

Orion Stock Performance

Shares of OEC traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $10.76. The company had a trading volume of 928,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 502,614. The stock has a market capitalization of $609.54 million, a P/E ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.25. Orion S.A. has a 52-week low of $10.65 and a 52-week high of $26.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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, analysts expect that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Orion's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Orion

In other Orion news, VP Carlos Quinones bought 3,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OEC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

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.