Pzena Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Orion S.A. $OEC

Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 4,771,969 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,638,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Orion as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Orion by 430.9% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,861 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,757 shares during the last quarter. Performa Ltd US LLC grew its holdings in shares of Orion by 690.0% during the 4th quarter. Performa Ltd US LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 6,900 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Orion during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in Orion in the 1st quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Orion by 277.5% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 11,147 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 8,194 shares during the period. 94.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on OEC shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Orion from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Orion from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $6.08.

Orion Price Performance

Shares of Orion stock opened at $6.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $350.99 million, a PE ratio of -3.59 and a beta of 1.00. Orion S.A. has a 12-month low of $4.34 and a 12-month high of $10.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.60.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $500.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $474.43 million. Orion had a negative return on equity of 0.31% and a negative net margin of 5.28%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Orion S.A. will post 0.08 EPS for the current year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be given a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 6th. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -4.62%.

About Orion

Orion Engineered Carbons SA, operating as Orion (NYSE: OEC), is a global producer of carbon black, a critical performance additive used to enhance the strength, durability and conductivity of various materials. The company’s products chiefly serve the tire and rubber industry, where carbon black imparts wear resistance and longevity, as well as the plastics, coatings, inks and battery components markets, where specialty grades deliver tailored conductivity and color properties.

Orion’s product portfolio is organized into two core segments: Rubber and Specialty and Chemical Specialties.