Olin (NYSE:OLN) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $22.33 and last traded at $22.50, with a volume of 115258 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group set a $28.00 target price on shares of Olin in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Olin from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $30.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Olin from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Olin from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Olin from $31.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Olin presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.69.

Olin Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $26.75 and its 200 day moving average is $35.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.97 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.10. Olin had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 1.66%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Olin Co. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Olin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Olin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.89%.

Olin declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, December 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 45% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Olin

In other Olin news, CEO Kenneth Todd Lane bought 7,250 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,435. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Olin

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Olin by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,887 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Olin by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 143,062 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,835,000 after acquiring an additional 51,051 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Olin by 82.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,461 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 2,476 shares in the last quarter. Mariner Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Olin in the 4th quarter valued at about $355,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Olin by 37.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 125,913 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,042,000 after acquiring an additional 34,485 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.67% of the company’s stock.

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.