Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Short Interest Down 20.2% in March

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 690,100 shares, a decline of 20.2% from the February 28th total of 865,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 533,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other Orion news, VP Carlos Quinones purchased 3,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was 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 owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,705.14. The trade was a 4.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Orion

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OEC. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Orion by 86.6% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 75,867 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,352,000 after buying an additional 35,207 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Orion during the third quarter worth about $280,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Orion by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 875,275 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $15,589,000 after buying an additional 34,183 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew 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 worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 14,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Orion by 122.8% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 25,627 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $456,000 after buying an additional 14,125 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 research firms have recently weighed in on OEC. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st.

Orion Price Performance

Shares of OEC stock traded down $0.51 on Thursday, reaching $12.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,210,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 494,501. Orion has a 1 year low of $11.46 and a 1 year high of $26.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $13.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.63. The company has a market capitalization of $683.25 million, a price-to-earnings 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 20.94%. Analysts forecast that Orion will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Orion's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.67%.

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.