Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $40.44.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on OLN shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Olin from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Olin from $44.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Olin in a report on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Olin from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Olin in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

Olin Trading Down 2.4 %

OLN stock opened at $26.89 on Monday. Olin has a 12-month low of $26.48 and a 12-month high of $60.60. The business’s 50-day moving average is $31.50 and its 200 day moving average is $39.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.88 and a beta of 1.45.

Olin (NYSE:OLN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.10. Olin had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 1.66%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Olin will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Olin announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 45% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Olin Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. Olin’s payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Insider Transactions at Olin

In related news, CEO Kenneth Todd Lane acquired 7,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.06 per share, for a total transaction of $203,435.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 7,250 shares in the company, valued at $203,435. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Olin

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Olin by 88.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 589 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Olin by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,534 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Olin by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 13,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $648,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Olin by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $568,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Olin by 45.8% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,334 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. 88.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.