WealthTrust Axiom LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN)

WealthTrust Axiom LLC lowered its position in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,186 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Olin were worth $1,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. South Dakota Investment Council lifted its stake in shares of Olin by 279.8% in the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 60,392 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,258,000 after acquiring an additional 44,492 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in Olin by 153.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 24,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 14,928 shares during the last quarter. Coombe Bender & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Olin by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Coombe Bender & Co LLC now owns 90,977 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,547,000 after buying an additional 15,645 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Olin during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $361,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Olin during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,613,000. 88.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Olin Stock Performance

Shares of OLN traded down $1.28 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 716,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,029,000. The stock has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.70. Olin Co. has a 1-year low of $41.71 and a 1-year high of $60.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Olin (NYSE:OLN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. Olin had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Olin Co. will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Olin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 9th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 8th. Olin’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Olin

In related news, VP Valerie A. Peters sold 71,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.52, for a total value of $3,770,936.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 19,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,022,511.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Olin news, CEO Scott Mcdougald Sutton sold 48,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.39, for a total value of $2,561,661.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,732,231.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Valerie A. Peters sold 71,800 shares of Olin stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.52, for a total value of $3,770,936.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 19,469 shares in the company, valued at $1,022,511.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 150,696 shares of company stock valued at $7,906,997. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on OLN shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Olin from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Olin from $78.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Olin from $69.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Bank of America reduced their target price on Olin from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Olin from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Olin currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.00.

Olin 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.