American Century Companies Inc. Increases Position in Orion S.A. $OEC

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 6.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,138,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 137,890 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 3.81% of Orion worth $16,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. CenterBook Partners LP lifted its position in Orion by 53.9% during the second quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 294,093 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,085,000 after buying an additional 103,021 shares in the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC grew its holdings in Orion by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 2,424,995 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,438,000 after buying an additional 325,995 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Orion in the 2nd quarter worth $675,000. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Orion in the 2nd quarter worth $575,000. Finally, CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Orion during the 2nd quarter worth $2,743,000. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Orion Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:OEC opened at $4.91 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $276.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.89 and a beta of 1.05. Orion S.A. has a 12-month low of $4.34 and a 12-month high of $13.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $6.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.34) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $411.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.79 million. Orion had a negative net margin of 3.88% and a positive return on equity of 6.52%. Sell-side analysts expect that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is currently -6.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on OEC shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Orion from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Orion from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Orion from $4.50 to $5.25 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Orion from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Orion currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $5.58.

Orion Company Profile

Orion Engineered Carbons SA, operating as Orion (NYSE: OEC), is a global producer of carbon black, a critical performance additive used to enhance the strength, durability and conductivity of various materials. The company’s products chiefly serve the tire and rubber industry, where carbon black imparts wear resistance and longevity, as well as the plastics, coatings, inks and battery components markets, where specialty grades deliver tailored conductivity and color properties.

Orion’s product portfolio is organized into two core segments: Rubber and Specialty and Chemical Specialties.