Olin (NYSE:OLN) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $26.28 and last traded at $26.60, with a volume of 34409 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on OLN shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Olin in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Olin from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. UBS Group cut their target price on Olin from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Olin from $44.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Olin currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.44.

Olin Trading Down 0.8 %

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 29.57 and a beta of 1.45.

Olin (NYSE:OLN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Olin Co. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Olin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid 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 3.00%. Olin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.89%.

Olin declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 45% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kenneth Todd Lane acquired 7,250 shares of Olin stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.06 per share, with a total value of $203,435.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 7,250 shares of the company’s stock, 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 hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Olin

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position 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. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Olin by 26.2% in 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 buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Olin by 2.5% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 13,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Olin by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Olin by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,334 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. 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.