Penn Capital Management Company LLC Lowers Stock Position in Orion S.A. $OEC

Penn Capital Management Company LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 68.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,679 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 139,953 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC’s holdings in Orion were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Orion in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,638,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Orion in the second quarter valued at $27,898,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Orion by 361.3% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 874,279 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,616,000 after acquiring an additional 684,749 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Orion by 190.0% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 582,141 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,413,000 after purchasing an additional 381,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CastleKnight Management LP boosted its position in shares of Orion by 376.2% during the 4th quarter. CastleKnight Management LP now owns 471,941 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,492,000 after purchasing an additional 372,841 shares in the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Orion Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of OEC stock opened at $6.36 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $359.47 million, a P/E ratio of -3.68 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. Orion S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $4.34 and a fifty-two week high of $10.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.56.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $500.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $474.43 million. Orion had a negative return on equity of 0.31% and a negative net margin of 5.28%. On average, analysts forecast that Orion S.A. will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be issued a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is -4.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OEC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Orion from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Orion from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $6.08.

Orion Profile

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.