Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 42.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 43,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 32,265 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.08% of Orion worth $688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of OEC. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Orion by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,461,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $54,664,000 after purchasing an additional 602,080 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Orion by 583.7% in the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 220,184 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,477,000 after acquiring an additional 187,977 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Orion by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 140,037 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,211,000 after acquiring an additional 6,230 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Orion during the 4th quarter valued at $1,531,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Orion by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 960,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $15,164,000 after acquiring an additional 85,074 shares during the period. 94.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones bought 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the purchase, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Orion Price Performance

Shares of OEC stock traded up $0.07 on Monday, hitting $11.54. 1,085,647 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 500,437. The firm has a market cap of $654.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.51. Orion S.A. has a 52 week low of $10.56 and a 52 week high of $26.05.

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. Orion had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 2.35%. The business had revenue of $434.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $437.03 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Orion's payout ratio is 10.67%.

Orion 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.