Olin (NYSE:OLN) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Olin (NYSE:OLN) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Olin from $21.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Olin in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Olin from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Olin in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Olin from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.64.

Olin Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Olin stock opened at $27.74 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -73.00 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. Olin has a twelve month low of $18.08 and a twelve month high of $30.46.

Olin (NYSE:OLN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.58) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.58). The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Olin had a negative return on equity of 0.48% and a negative net margin of 0.63%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Olin will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Olin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Olin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -210.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Todd A. Slater sold 92,250 shares of Olin stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.48, for a total value of $2,073,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $995,661.68. This trade represents a 67.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP R Nichole Sumner sold 4,750 shares of Olin stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.49, for a total value of $106,827.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 24,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $557,099.79. This represents a 16.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 99,379 shares of company stock worth $2,238,298. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Olin

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Olin by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 5,189 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in Olin by 0.9% in the third quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 60,359 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Olin by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 97,616 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Olin by 9.9% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 6,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC lifted its stake in Olin by 2.6% in the second quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 24,453 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.67% of the company’s stock.

About Olin

Olin Corporation is a diversified manufacturer specializing in chemical products and ammunition. The company’s core business activities encompass the production and distribution of chlor-alkali products, epoxy resins and derivatives, and small-caliber ammunition under the Winchester brand. Olin’s chemical operations supply chlorine, caustic soda and related co-products to a wide range of end markets, including water treatment, pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals and general industrial applications.

In its Chlor Alkali Products & Vinyls segment, Olin operates multiple manufacturing facilities that produce chlorine and sodium hydroxide, along with vinyl chloride monomer and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) compounds.