Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Takes Position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 65,116 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,429,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Orion at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Orion by 207.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,412 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of Orion in the second quarter worth about $54,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Orion by 1,375.1% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Orion in the second quarter worth about $140,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Orion in the first quarter worth about $221,000. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Orion news, Director Dan F. Smith bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.53 per share, with a total value of $46,325.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 78,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,459,645.16. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Dan F. Smith acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.53 per share, with a total value of $46,325.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 78,772 shares in the company, valued at $1,459,645.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Corning F. Painter acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.69 per share, for a total transaction of $176,900.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 958,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,960,747.44. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 47,500 shares of company stock valued at $845,225. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Orion from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th.

Orion Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE OEC opened at $17.34 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Orion S.A. has a 1-year low of $15.54 and a 1-year high of $28.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 1.47.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $477.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $491.14 million. Orion had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 19.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Orion S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.021 per share. This is a boost from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.41%.

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.