Olin (NYSE:OLN) Trading Down 8.7% – Here’s What Happened

Olin Corporation (NYSE:OLN)’s stock price dropped 8.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $26.01 and last traded at $27.5320. Approximately 1,151,980 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 3,243,136 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OLN has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Olin from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Olin from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Olin from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Olin from $21.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.64.

Olin Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.21 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.28.

Olin (NYSE:OLN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.58) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.58). The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. Olin had a negative net margin of 0.63% and a negative return on equity of 0.48%. The company’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Olin Corporation will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Olin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Olin’s payout ratio is presently -210.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Angela M. Castle sold 2,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.25, for a total value of $57,690.75. Following the completion of 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP R Nichole Sumner sold 4,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owned 24,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $557,099.79. This trade represents a 16.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Olin

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OLN. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its holdings in Olin by 448.9% in the fourth quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 3,804,561 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $79,249,000 after purchasing an additional 3,111,393 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new position in Olin in the second quarter valued at $50,476,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Olin by 1,063.0% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,486,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $62,143,000 after acquiring an additional 2,272,877 shares in the last quarter. Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC boosted its stake in Olin by 141.3% in the third quarter. Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC now owns 1,924,245 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,087,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi acquired a new position in Olin in the third quarter valued at $24,418,000. 88.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.