Heartland Advisors Inc. Sells 400,000 Shares of Orion S.A. $OEC

Heartland Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OECFree Report) by 66.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 200,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 400,000 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Orion were worth $1,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of OEC. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Orion by 321.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,382 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 5,632 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Orion by 111.2% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 17,667 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 9,300 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Orion in the first quarter valued at $137,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its stake in Orion by 18.2% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 13,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GWN Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Orion in the 2nd quarter worth about $148,000. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on OEC shares. Zacks Research raised Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Orion from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Orion from $9.00 to $5.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $5.67.

Read Our Latest Analysis on OEC

Orion Stock Down 19.7%

Shares of OEC opened at $5.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $320.62 million, a P/E ratio of -9.84 and a beta of 1.06. Orion S.A. has a 12-month low of $4.34 and a 12-month high of $16.63.

Orion (NYSE:OECGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.26). Orion had a negative net margin of 1.74% and a positive return on equity of 14.90%. The company had revenue of $411.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.79 million. Equities research analysts expect that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

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About Orion

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Orion (NYSE:OEC)

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