West Tower Group LLC Sells 3,553 Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

West Tower Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 110,649 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,553 shares during the period. Orion makes up approximately 3.9% of West Tower Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. West Tower Group LLC’s holdings in Orion were worth $1,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Orion by 148.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 151,205 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,693,000 after purchasing an additional 90,292 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in Orion in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,620,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Orion by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,179,181 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,001,000 after buying an additional 198,182 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Orion by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 377,198 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,718,000 after buying an additional 52,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Orion by 320.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 95,512 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,700,000 after buying an additional 72,793 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Orion

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones purchased 3,300 shares of Orion stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.07 per share, with a total value of $43,131.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,705.14. This trade represents a 4.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Orion Price Performance

Shares of Orion stock opened at $13.76 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Orion S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $12.51 and a fifty-two week high of $26.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $14.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.91. The company has a market cap of $779.33 million, a PE ratio of 18.34 and a beta of 1.52.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.10. Orion had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 20.94%. The firm had revenue of $434.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $437.03 million. Analysts expect that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.