Swiss National Bank Lowers Stake in Orion S.A. $OEC

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 111,900 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.20% of Orion worth $1,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Orion by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,617,287 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $41,327,000 after purchasing an additional 265,184 shares in the last quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Orion by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,186,942 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,529,000 after buying an additional 233,342 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Orion by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 928,425 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $14,660,000 after acquiring an additional 229,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Orion during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,443,000. Institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Orion Stock Performance

Shares of OEC stock opened at $10.7450 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $10.57 and a 200 day moving average of $11.77. Orion S.A. has a 1 year low of $9.03 and a 1 year high of $19.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $603.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.80 and a beta of 1.10.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.04). Orion had a net margin of 0.82% and a return on equity of 16.67%. The firm had revenue of $466.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $475.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a interim dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a yield of 80.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is 29.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on OEC shares. Zacks Research upgraded Orion to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Orion from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Orion from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $9.00 price target (down previously from $10.00) on shares of Orion in a report on Monday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Orion has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

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.