Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 192,713 Orion S.A. $OEC

Posted by Francis Steltz on Jul 31st, 2026

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC – Free Report) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 192,713 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,253,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Orion by 361.3% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 874,279 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,616,000 after buying an additional 684,749 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in Orion by 190.0% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 582,141 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,413,000 after buying an additional 381,388 shares in the last quarter. CastleKnight Management LP grew its position in Orion by 376.2% during the fourth quarter. CastleKnight Management LP now owns 471,941 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,492,000 after buying an additional 372,841 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Orion during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,910,000. Finally, JB Capital Partners LP bought a new position in Orion during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,769,000. Institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Orion Stock Down 5.8%

Shares of NYSE:OEC opened at $6.74 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $6.89 and its 200-day moving average is $6.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.00. Orion S.A. has a 52 week low of $4.34 and a 52 week high of $11.20. The company has a market capitalization of $379.96 million, a PE ratio of -4.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Orion (NYSE:OEC – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.18). Orion had a positive return on equity of 2.23% and a negative net margin of 4.98%.The firm had revenue of $459.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $434.31 million. Equities research analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.0207 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is currently -5.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on OEC. Zacks Research cut Orion from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Orion from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on Orion from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $5.92.

View Our Latest Report on OEC

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.