Isthmus Partners LLC Sells 18,701 Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Isthmus Partners LLC cut its holdings in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 133,807 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 18,701 shares during the quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Orion worth $2,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Orion by 129.5% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 25,321 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 14,286 shares during the period. West Tower Group LLC lifted its holdings in Orion by 31.7% in the third quarter. West Tower Group LLC now owns 114,202 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,034,000 after buying an additional 27,519 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its holdings in Orion by 16.0% in the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 45,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $811,000 after buying an additional 6,268 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Orion by 4.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 875,275 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,589,000 after buying an additional 34,183 shares during the period. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Orion in the third quarter worth about $4,620,000. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Orion Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of OEC stock opened at $18.39 on Friday. Orion S.A. has a 1 year low of $14.94 and a 1 year high of $28.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $16.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.70 and a beta of 1.48.

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

Orion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.021 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. This is a boost from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Orion’s payout ratio is presently 15.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Orion from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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.