Insider Buying: Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) CEO Acquires $349,600.00 in Stock

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) CEO Corning F. Painter purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.48 per share, for a total transaction of $349,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 948,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,584,604.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Orion Trading Down 0.1 %

OEC stock opened at $18.19 on Friday. Orion S.A. has a 1-year low of $15.54 and a 1-year high of $28.48. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50 day moving average is $22.31 and its 200-day moving average is $23.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.18). Orion had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The company had revenue of $477.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $491.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on OEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Orion from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their price target on Orion from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of OEC. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Orion during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. CWM LLC grew its position in Orion by 207.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in Orion during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Orion by 1,375.1% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Orion during the 1st quarter worth approximately $104,000. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.