William Blair Investment Management LLC Acquires 602,080 Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,461,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 602,080 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 6.00% of Orion worth $54,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of OEC. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Orion in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its stake in Orion by 1,578.7% during the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 4,415 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 4,152 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in Orion by 1,112.9% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 8,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 7,913 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in Orion during the third quarter valued at approximately $190,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Orion by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,637 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Orion

In other news, VP Carlos Quinones acquired 3,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.07 per share, with a total value of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,705.14. This trade represents a 4.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on OEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 cut their price objective 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.

Orion Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE OEC traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,012,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 547,900. Orion S.A. has a 12-month low of $12.51 and a 12-month 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 firm has a market cap of $760.75 million, a P/E ratio of 17.90 and a beta of 1.52. The business's 50 day moving average is $14.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.88.

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

Orion Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Orion's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.