Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 630,500 shares, an increase of 29.9% from the September 30th total of 485,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 539,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OEC has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Orion from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th.

Insider Activity at Orion

In other Orion news, CFO Jeffrey Glajch bought 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.16 per share, for a total transaction of $272,400.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 101,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,849,686.80. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Jeffrey Glajch acquired 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.16 per share, with a total value of $272,400.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 101,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,849,686.80. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Corning F. Painter bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.48 per share, with a total value of $349,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 948,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,584,604.48. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 47,500 shares of company stock valued at $845,225. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Orion by 315.3% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 54,494 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after purchasing an additional 41,372 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Orion by 94.9% in the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 270,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,370,000 after buying an additional 131,902 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Orion by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 67,503 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,588,000 after buying an additional 23,026 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $42,523,000 after buying an additional 77,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Divisar Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 55,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Orion Stock Performance

NYSE OEC traded down $0.55 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $14.99. 492,196 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 431,413. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $874.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 1.46. Orion has a 12-month low of $14.94 and a 12-month high of $28.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $17.07 and a 200-day moving average of $20.79.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $477.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $491.14 million. Orion had a return on equity of 19.21% and a net margin of 4.09%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Orion will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.021 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is 6.06%.

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.