Heartland Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Heartland Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 446,550 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 18,250 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Orion were worth $7,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Orion in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Orion by 1,578.7% in the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 4,415 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 4,152 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Orion by 1,112.9% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 8,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 7,913 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Orion during the fourth quarter worth about $171,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new position in shares of Orion during the third quarter worth about $190,000. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OEC has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group cut their price target on Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

Orion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OEC opened at $12.96 on Friday. Orion S.A. has a 52 week low of $12.51 and a 52 week high of $26.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $13.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.72. The company has a market cap of $734.01 million, a P/E ratio of 17.27 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.10. Orion had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 2.35%. The business had revenue of $434.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $437.03 million. Research analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones acquired 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.07 per share, with a total value of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,705.14. This represents a 4.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.20% 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.