Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,940,000 shares, a growth of 24.4% from the January 31st total of 3,970,000 shares. Approximately 4.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,770,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kenneth Todd Lane acquired 7,250 shares of Olin stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.06 per share, with a total value of $203,435.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 7,250 shares in the company, valued at $203,435. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Olin by 88.2% during 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. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Olin by 357.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 915 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Olin in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Olin by 26.2% during the third 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. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Olin by 246.8% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,616 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.67% of the company’s stock.

Olin Stock Down 2.5 %

NYSE OLN traded down $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.22. The stock had a trading volume of 898,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,802,268. Olin has a 12 month low of $22.98 and a 12 month high of $60.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $29.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.20. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 26.96 and a beta of 1.61.

Olin (NYSE:OLN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.10. Olin had a net margin of 1.66% and a return on equity of 5.10%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Olin will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Olin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Olin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Olin from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Olin in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Olin from $44.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Olin from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $48.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Olin in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Olin presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.38.

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.