BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 15,361 Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its position in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 37.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,198 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 15,361 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Orion were worth $398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC increased its stake in Orion by 526.4% in the 4th quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 313,188 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,945,000 after buying an additional 263,188 shares in the last quarter. Divisar Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Orion by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Divisar Capital Management LLC now owns 1,223,324 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $19,316,000 after purchasing an additional 80,000 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in Orion during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Orion by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 560,606 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,852,000 after purchasing an additional 38,793 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in Orion in the 4th quarter worth approximately $259,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Orion from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Orion from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Orion Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of OEC stock opened at $10.55 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $593.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06 and a beta of 1.20. Orion S.A. has a 12-month low of $9.59 and a 12-month high of $25.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $11.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.27.

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

Orion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones acquired 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired 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 directly owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,705.14. This trade represents a 4.32% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

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.