Bank of America Upgrades Olin (NYSE:OLN) to Buy

Olin (NYSE:OLN) was upgraded by investment analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $40.00 target price on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $48.00. Bank of America‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 26.22% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Olin from $41.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Olin from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Olin from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Olin from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Olin from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.07.

Olin Price Performance

NYSE:OLN opened at $31.69 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Olin has a 12-month low of $30.69 and a 12-month high of $60.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $38.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.48.

Olin declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 12th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 45% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP R Nichole Sumner sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.75, for a total transaction of $459,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 24,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,052,450. The trade was a 30.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Olin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Olin by 6.4% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 8,838,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $424,095,000 after buying an additional 531,330 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Olin by 5.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,741,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $176,396,000 after purchasing an additional 194,755 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Olin by 24.8% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,452,708 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $165,661,000 after purchasing an additional 685,710 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Olin by 2.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,295,699 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $62,168,000 after purchasing an additional 37,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Olin by 19.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,073,087 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $51,015,000 after buying an additional 172,768 shares during the period. 88.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Olin Company Profile

Olin Corporation manufactures and distributes chemical products in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls; Epoxy; and Winchester. The Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls segment offers chlorine and caustic soda, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomers, methyl chloride, methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, perchloroethylene, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen, bleach products, potassium hydroxide, and chlorinated organics intermediates and solvents.