WINTON GROUP Ltd Makes New $5.35 Million Investment in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN)

WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 158,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,345,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd owned 0.14% of Olin as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Olin by 5,746.2% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,613,796 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,586,192 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Olin by 6.4% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 8,838,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $424,095,000 after purchasing an additional 531,330 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Olin by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,709,611 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $125,385,000 after purchasing an additional 256,903 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Olin by 70.9% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 544,814 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,140,000 after purchasing an additional 225,930 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Olin during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,779,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.67% of the company’s stock.

Olin Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OLN opened at $24.76 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $27.68 and its 200 day moving average is $36.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.51 and a beta of 1.61. Olin Co. has a 1-year low of $22.98 and a 1-year high of $60.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Olin (NYSE:OLN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.10. Olin had a net margin of 1.66% and a return on equity of 5.10%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Olin Co. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Olin declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 12th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 45% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Olin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. Olin’s payout ratio is 88.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kenneth Todd Lane purchased 7,250 shares of Olin stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.06 per share, for a total transaction of $203,435.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,250 shares in the company, valued at $203,435. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Olin from $38.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price 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. Bank of America upgraded Olin from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $48.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Olin from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Olin from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $30.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.38.

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.