Olin (NYSE:OLN) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Olin Corporation (NYSE:OLN) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $29.95 and last traded at $28.8770, with a volume of 3169899 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on OLN. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Olin from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Olin in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Olin from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Olin in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group set a $21.00 price objective on Olin in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.73.

Olin Stock Down 0.5%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.72 and a 200 day moving average of $23.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -75.99 and a beta of 1.56.

Olin (NYSE:OLN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.58). Olin had a negative return on equity of 0.48% and a negative net margin of 0.63%.The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.09 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Olin Corporation 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 dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Olin’s dividend payout ratio is presently -210.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Olin news, VP R Nichole Sumner sold 4,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.49, for a total value of $106,827.50. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 24,771 shares in the company, valued at $557,099.79. The trade was a 16.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Angela M. Castle sold 2,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.25, for a total transaction of $57,690.75. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,054. This represents a 60.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 99,379 shares of company stock worth $2,238,298. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Olin

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OLN. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Olin by 115.2% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,231 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares during the period. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in Olin in the fourth quarter worth $66,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Olin by 755.0% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 80,166 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after buying an additional 70,790 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Olin during the 4th quarter valued at $250,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Olin by 53.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 804,807 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,764,000 after buying an additional 279,388 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.