Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC Trims Stock Position in Orion S.A. $OEC

Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC lessened its stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 55.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 865,193 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,087,282 shares during the quarter. Orion accounts for about 0.8% of Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC’s holdings in Orion were worth $6,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Orion by 37.5% in the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,577,197 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248,295 shares during the period. Harvey Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 325,995 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $20,983,000 after purchasing an additional 110,324 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Orion by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,805,927 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $18,944,000 after purchasing an additional 91,674 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Orion by 54.0% during the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 478,629 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,021,000 after buying an additional 167,824 shares in the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Orion Stock Down 0.5%

OEC opened at $6.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $358.80 million, a PE ratio of -11.02 and a beta of 1.07. Orion S.A. has a twelve month low of $4.34 and a twelve month high of $16.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.07). Orion had a positive return on equity of 14.90% and a negative net margin of 1.74%.The firm had revenue of $450.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $453.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OEC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Orion from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Mizuho set a $6.00 target price on Orion in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on Orion from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Orion from $9.00 to $5.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $5.67.

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.