Olin (NYSE:OLN) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler cut shares of Olin (NYSE:OLN) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $33.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $41.00.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on OLN. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Olin from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Olin from $44.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Olin from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Olin from $43.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Olin from $40.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.44.

Olin Stock Performance

Shares of OLN opened at $27.92 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $33.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.97. Olin has a 52-week low of $26.48 and a 52-week high of $60.60. The firm has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.02, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Olin (NYSE:OLN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.10. Olin had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 1.66%. Analysts forecast that Olin will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Olin announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 12th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 45% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kenneth Todd Lane bought 7,250 shares of Olin stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.06 per share, with a total value of $203,435.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,435. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Olin

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Olin by 481.7% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 82,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,792,000 after purchasing an additional 68,400 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Olin by 1,960.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 344,962 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,660,000 after buying an additional 328,222 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its position in Olin by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 21,241 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $718,000 after buying an additional 1,572 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Olin by 54.8% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 7,048 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 2,495 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in Olin by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,334 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. 88.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.