Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Shares Sold by Voloridge Investment Management LLC

Voloridge Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 14.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 241,118 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 41,402 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Orion were worth $3,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in OEC. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in Orion during the fourth quarter worth approximately $382,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Orion by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 16,214 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 5,335 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in Orion by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 694,579 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $10,967,000 after buying an additional 117,022 shares during the period. Numerai GP LLC increased its position in Orion by 97.4% during the fourth quarter. Numerai GP LLC now owns 52,484 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $829,000 after buying an additional 25,895 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Orion by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 635,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $10,035,000 after buying an additional 65,549 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Orion Trading Up 3.8%

NYSE:OEC opened at $10.94 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $615.31 million, a P/E ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 1.20. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.21. Orion S.A. has a 12-month low of $9.59 and a 12-month high of $25.24.

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

Orion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 is Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Orion’s payout ratio is 17.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on OEC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Orion from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group cut their price target on Orion from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Carlos Quinones bought 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought 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 owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,705.14. This trade represents a 4.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.