Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Acquires 12,035 Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 183,044 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 12,035 shares during the quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Orion were worth $2,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Orion by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 57,672 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Orion by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 35,294 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Orion by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 25,351 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Orion by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 79,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after buying an additional 2,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Orion by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,577 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 3,630 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones purchased 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 79,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,705.14. This represents a 4.32 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Orion from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Orion Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of OEC opened at $12.03 on Friday. Orion S.A. has a 1-year low of $10.50 and a 1-year high of $26.05. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $12.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $681.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 1.25.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be paid a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Orion’s payout ratio is 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.