Olin (NYSE:OLN) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $32.71 and last traded at $32.78, with a volume of 201789 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on OLN shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Olin from $48.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Olin from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Olin from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Olin from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Olin from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.14.

Olin Stock Down 3.5 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.10, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $39.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.23.

Olin Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Olin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Olin announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 12th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 45% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Olin

In related news, VP R Nichole Sumner sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.75, for a total transaction of $459,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,052,450. This represents a 30.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Olin by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 28,731 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Olin during the second quarter valued at $405,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Olin by 245,690.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 24,579 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 24,569 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in Olin by 31.4% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 138,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,516,000 after purchasing an additional 33,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Olin by 493.6% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 6,993 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 5,815 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.67% of the company’s stock.

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.