Short Interest in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Drops By 20.2%

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 690,100 shares, a decrease of 20.2% from the February 28th total of 865,200 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 533,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Insider Transactions at Orion

In other news, VP Carlos Quinones acquired 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.07 per share, with a total value of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now owns 79,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,705.14. This represents a 4.32 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EVR Research LP acquired a new position in Orion in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,632,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Orion by 21.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 602,080 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Orion during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,974,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC acquired a new position in Orion in the 4th quarter valued at $7,464,000. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Orion during the fourth quarter worth about $5,302,000. 94.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OEC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of 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 dropped their target price on Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Orion Trading Down 3.8 %

NYSE OEC opened at $12.96 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $13.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.71. Orion has a 12 month low of $12.51 and a 12 month high of $26.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $734.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27 and a beta of 1.52.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $437.03 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Orion will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.0207 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Orion’s payout ratio is currently 10.67%.

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.