CSM Advisors LLC Purchases 278,501 Shares of Orion S.A. $OEC

CSM Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 106.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 539,961 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 278,501 shares during the quarter. CSM Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.96% of Orion worth $4,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in OEC. CenterBook Partners LP grew its position in Orion by 53.9% in the second quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 294,093 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,085,000 after purchasing an additional 103,021 shares in the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC lifted its position in Orion by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 2,424,995 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,438,000 after buying an additional 325,995 shares in the last quarter. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Orion during the 2nd quarter worth about $575,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Orion by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,000,241 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $20,983,000 after buying an additional 110,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Orion by 259.3% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 222,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 160,720 shares in the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OEC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Orion from $9.00 to $5.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Orion from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut Orion from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Orion from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Orion presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $5.58.

Orion Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:OEC opened at $4.77 on Monday. Orion S.A. has a 52-week low of $4.34 and a 52-week high of $13.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $268.35 million, a P/E ratio of -3.78 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.29.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $411.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.79 million. Orion had a positive return on equity of 6.52% and a negative net margin of 3.88%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Orion’s payout ratio is presently -6.35%.

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.