Sei Investments Co. Acquires 184,377 Shares of Orion S.A. $OEC

Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 80.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 413,968 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 184,377 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Orion were worth $2,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Orion by 430.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,861 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 4,757 shares in the last quarter. Performa Ltd US LLC grew its stake in Orion by 690.0% in the 4th quarter. Performa Ltd US LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 6,900 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Orion in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in Orion during the 1st quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of Orion by 277.5% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 11,147 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 8,194 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on OEC shares. Zacks Research raised Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Orion from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Orion from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $6.08.

Orion Stock Performance

Orion stock opened at $7.24 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $408.92 million, a PE ratio of -4.18 and a beta of 1.00. Orion S.A. has a 1-year low of $4.34 and a 1-year high of $11.20.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.02). Orion had a negative return on equity of 0.31% and a negative net margin of 5.28%.The firm had revenue of $500.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $474.43 million. As a group, analysts expect that Orion S.A. will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be issued a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is presently -4.62%.

About Orion

Orion Engineered Carbons SA, operating as Orion (NYSE: OEC), is a global producer of carbon black, a critical performance additive used to enhance the strength, durability and conductivity of various materials. The company’s products chiefly serve the tire and rubber industry, where carbon black imparts wear resistance and longevity, as well as the plastics, coatings, inks and battery components markets, where specialty grades deliver tailored conductivity and color properties.

Orion’s product portfolio is organized into two core segments: Rubber and Specialty and Chemical Specialties.