Olin (NYSE:OLN) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Olin Corporation (NYSE:OLN)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Citigroup downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a neutral rating. The stock had previously closed at $25.62, but opened at $25.03. Citigroup now has a $25.00 price target on the stock. Olin shares last traded at $25.29, with a volume of 314,394 shares trading hands.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Fermium Researc raised shares of Olin to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Olin from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Olin from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Olin from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Olin from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.57.

Insider Activity at Olin

In other news, VP Teresa M. Vermillion sold 6,000 shares of Olin stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.11, for a total value of $126,660.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 17,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $363,070.89. The trade was a 25.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Olin

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Olin by 160.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,206 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Olin in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in Olin by 6,360.0% during the second quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 1,615 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new position in Olin in the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Olin by 134.9% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,736 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.67% of the company’s stock.

Olin Stock Down 1.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of -210.33 and a beta of 1.68. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.75.

Olin (NYSE:OLN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. Olin had a negative net margin of 0.21% and a negative return on equity of 0.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Olin Corporation will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Olin Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Olin’s payout ratio is -666.67%.

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.