Meeder Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,241 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Orion by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 899,341 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $24,939,000 after acquiring an additional 53,720 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Orion by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,729,261 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $47,954,000 after purchasing an additional 76,480 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Orion by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,389,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,533,000 after buying an additional 234,153 shares during the period. Renaissance Group LLC boosted its holdings in Orion by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 113,004 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,134,000 after buying an additional 8,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chesapeake Capital Corp IL acquired a new position in shares of Orion during the 4th quarter worth about $933,000. Institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. 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 report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Orion

In other Orion news, CEO Corning F. Painter purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.69 per share, with a total value of $176,900.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 958,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,960,747.44. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Orion news, CEO Corning F. Painter purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.69 per share, with a total value of $176,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 958,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,960,747.44. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Corning F. Painter acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.48 per share, with a total value of $349,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 948,776 shares in the company, valued at $16,584,604.48. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 47,500 shares of company stock worth $845,225. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Orion Price Performance

NYSE OEC opened at $16.90 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $15.54 and a 52-week high of $28.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.19. The stock has a market cap of $986.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 1.47.

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

Orion Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Orion’s payout ratio is presently 5.41%.

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.