Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the sixteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.50.

A number of analysts recently commented on OLN shares. Bank of America upgraded Olin from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Olin from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Olin from $48.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Olin from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Olin from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP R Nichole Sumner sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.75, for a total transaction of $459,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,052,450. This trade represents a 30.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Olin

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OLN. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Olin by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,452,708 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $165,661,000 after buying an additional 685,710 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $424,095,000 after acquiring an additional 531,330 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Olin by 429.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 610,153 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,769,000 after acquiring an additional 494,976 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in Olin by 70.9% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 544,814 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,140,000 after purchasing an additional 225,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Olin by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,073,087 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $51,015,000 after purchasing an additional 172,768 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.67% of the company’s stock.

Olin Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Olin stock opened at $32.62 on Thursday. Olin has a 1 year low of $30.69 and a 1 year high of $60.60. 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 moving average price of $36.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.42. The company has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.48.

Olin announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 12th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 45% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.