Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Buys Shares of 218,041 Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 218,041 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,443,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Orion during the 4th quarter valued at $171,000. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Orion in the fourth quarter worth $206,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Orion in the fourth quarter worth $211,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Orion in the fourth quarter worth $259,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Orion by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,577 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,630 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Orion Trading Up 2.6%

Orion stock opened at $10.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $603.50 million, a P/E ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 1.20. Orion S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $9.56 and a fifty-two week high of $26.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $12.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.31). Orion had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 2.35%. The company had revenue of $477.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $486.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be given a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OEC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Orion from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $12.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Orion from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

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, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.