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

Shares of Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $47.07.

Several research analysts have commented on OLN shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Olin from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Olin from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Bank of America upgraded Olin from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $48.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Olin from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Olin from $48.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th.

Insider Activity

In other Olin news, VP R Nichole Sumner sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,052,450. This represents a 30.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Olin by 6.4% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 8,838,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $424,095,000 after buying an additional 531,330 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Olin by 24.8% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,452,708 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $165,661,000 after acquiring an additional 685,710 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Olin by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,295,699 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $62,168,000 after purchasing an additional 37,043 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Olin by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,073,087 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $51,015,000 after purchasing an additional 172,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Olin by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,061,001 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $50,907,000 after purchasing an additional 25,163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.67% of the company’s stock.

Olin Price Performance

NYSE:OLN opened at $33.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.08, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.48. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.90. Olin has a 1 year low of $30.69 and a 1 year high of $60.60.

Olin announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 45% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.