Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Purchases 109,599 Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 92.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 227,539 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 109,599 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC’s holdings in Orion were worth $4,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Orion during the second quarter valued at about $550,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Orion by 2.9% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 85,016 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,865,000 after buying an additional 2,369 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Orion by 4.8% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,040 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Orion by 19.8% in the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 324,391 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,117,000 after buying an additional 53,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC raised its stake in Orion by 100.6% in the second quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 32,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $717,000 after buying an additional 16,400 shares in the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Orion news, Director Dan F. Smith acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.53 per share, for a total transaction of $46,325.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 78,772 shares in the company, valued at $1,459,645.16. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Dan F. Smith purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.53 per share, for a total transaction of $46,325.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 78,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,459,645.16. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Glajch purchased 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.16 per share, for a total transaction of $272,400.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 101,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,849,686.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 47,500 shares of company stock worth $845,225. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Orion Price Performance

Shares of OEC opened at $17.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.39. Orion S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $15.54 and a fifty-two week high of $28.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.85.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $477.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $491.14 million. Orion had a return on equity of 19.21% and a net margin of 4.09%. Orion’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.021 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is 5.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on OEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Orion from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Orion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

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.