Wall Street Zen Upgrades Olin (NYSE:OLN) to Hold

Olin (NYSE:OLN) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $18.00 price target on Olin in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Olin from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Olin from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Olin in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Olin from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Olin presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $20.64.

Olin Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE:OLN opened at $17.55 on Friday. Olin has a 12 month low of $14.64 and a 12 month high of $30.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Olin (NYSE:OLN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.02). Olin had a negative net margin of 2.49% and a negative return on equity of 6.63%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. Olin’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Olin will post -0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Olin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OLN. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Olin by 22.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,627,997 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $167,311,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031,498 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Olin by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,966,952 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $61,488,000 after purchasing an additional 76,748 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Olin by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,232,912 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,654,000 after purchasing an additional 12,290 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Olin by 80.8% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 713,041 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $21,199,000 after purchasing an additional 318,588 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Olin by 337.2% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 684,036 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $20,336,000 after purchasing an additional 527,586 shares in the last quarter. 88.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Olin Company Profile

Olin Corporation is a chemicals and ammunition manufacturer headquartered in Clayton, Missouri. Its businesses include chlor-alkali products and vinyls, epoxy materials, and Winchester-branded ammunition.

Olin’s chemical operations produce chlorine, caustic soda, vinyl chloride and related products, as well as epoxy resins and intermediates. These materials serve customers in industries such as construction, water treatment, manufacturing and transportation.

The company traces its origins to 1892, when Franklin W.