Olin (NYSE:OLN) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $31.13 and last traded at $31.80, with a volume of 1552569 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on OLN shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Olin from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Olin from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Olin from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Olin from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Olin Stock Down 2.4 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $38.39 and a 200 day moving average of $42.62. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 25.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Olin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Olin’s payout ratio is 64.52%.

Olin announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 45% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Olin

In other news, VP R Nichole Sumner sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.75, for a total transaction of $459,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 24,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,052,450. This represents a 30.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Olin

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Olin during the third quarter worth about $916,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Olin by 2.9% during 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 buying an additional 37,043 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Olin in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,350,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Olin by 846.7% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 14,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $670,000 after buying an additional 12,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Olin by 37.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 125,913 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,042,000 after acquiring an additional 34,485 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.67% of the company’s stock.

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.