Isthmus Partners LLC Buys 6,230 Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,037 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,230 shares during the quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC owned about 0.24% of Orion worth $2,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in OEC. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Orion by 148.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 151,205 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,693,000 after acquiring an additional 90,292 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Orion in the third quarter valued at $4,620,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Orion by 20.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,179,181 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $21,001,000 after purchasing an additional 198,182 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Orion by 16.3% during the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 377,198 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,718,000 after purchasing an additional 52,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Orion by 320.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 95,512 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,700,000 after purchasing an additional 72,793 shares during the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on OEC shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st.

Orion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:OEC opened at $13.81 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $782.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 1.52. Orion S.A. has a 12 month low of $12.56 and a 12 month high of $26.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $14.50 and its 200 day moving average is $16.15.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $434.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $437.03 million. Research analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.67%.

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.