Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.14.

A number of brokerages recently commented on OLN. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Olin from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Olin from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Olin from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Olin from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Olin from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th.

Olin Price Performance

NYSE:OLN opened at $33.52 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $39.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.43. Olin has a one year low of $32.90 and a one year high of $60.60.

Olin announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 12th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 45% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Olin Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Olin’s dividend payout ratio is 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Olin

In related news, VP R Nichole Sumner sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.75, for a total value of $459,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,056 shares in the company, valued at $1,052,450. The trade was a 30.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Olin

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OLN. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Olin in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Olin by 357.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 915 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Olin in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC purchased a new position in shares of Olin during the second quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 88.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Olin

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.