Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Shares Acquired by West Tower Group LLC

West Tower Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 114,202 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,519 shares during the period. Orion accounts for 4.3% of West Tower Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. West Tower Group LLC’s holdings in Orion were worth $2,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Orion by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,807,942 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,523,000 after purchasing an additional 77,952 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Orion by 20.2% during the 3rd 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. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Orion during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,620,000. Divisar Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Orion by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Divisar Capital Management LLC now owns 805,082 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,663,000 after purchasing an additional 55,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Orion by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 377,198 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,718,000 after purchasing an additional 52,807 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Orion Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE OEC opened at $18.78 on Tuesday. Orion S.A. has a 12-month low of $14.94 and a 12-month high of $28.48. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 35.43 and a beta of 1.48. 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 50-day moving average of $16.81 and a 200 day moving average of $19.78.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.06). Orion had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 18.97%. The business had revenue of $463.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $489.01 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.021 dividend. This is a boost from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is 15.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OEC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Orion from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th.

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.