Pzena Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,647,985 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 954,398 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Orion worth $64,971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Orion by 315.3% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 54,494 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,282,000 after purchasing an additional 41,372 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Orion by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,807,942 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,523,000 after buying an additional 77,952 shares during the last quarter. Divisar Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Orion by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Divisar Capital Management LLC now owns 805,082 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,663,000 after acquiring an additional 55,000 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Orion by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,179,181 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $21,001,000 after acquiring an additional 198,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Orion by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 324,391 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,117,000 after acquiring an additional 53,559 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Orion

In other Orion news, CEO Corning F. Painter bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.69 per share, for a total transaction of $176,900.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 958,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,960,747.44. This represents a 1.05 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Orion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OEC traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $17.77. 29,820 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 448,097. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $16.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.95. The company has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.84 and a beta of 1.48. Orion S.A. has a 12-month low of $14.94 and a 12-month high of $28.48.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $463.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $489.01 million. Orion had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 18.97%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Orion S.A. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.021 dividend. This is a boost from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Orion from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com lowered Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th.

About Orion

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.