Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC Has $30.36 Million Position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC raised its position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,922,698 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 320,157 shares during the quarter. Orion accounts for 4.0% of Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC’s holdings in Orion were worth $30,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in OEC. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Orion by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,461,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after buying an additional 602,080 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Orion by 414.7% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 239,693 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,785,000 after acquiring an additional 193,126 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Orion by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,747,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,588,000 after acquiring an additional 188,131 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Orion by 583.7% during the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 220,184 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,477,000 after acquiring an additional 187,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in Orion by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 912,652 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $14,265,000 after acquiring an additional 184,139 shares during the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Orion Price Performance

Shares of OEC stock opened at $13.43 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $760.75 million, a P/E ratio of 17.90 and a beta of 1.52. Orion S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $12.51 and a fifty-two week high of $26.05. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $14.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $434.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $437.03 million. Orion had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 2.35%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $0.0207 dividend. 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 0.62%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.67%.

Insider Activity at Orion

In other news, VP Carlos Quinones purchased 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 79,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,705.14. This trade represents a 4.32 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group reduced their price target on Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th.

Orion Company 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.