BMO Capital Markets Has Lowered Expectations for Olin (NYSE:OLN) Stock Price

Olin (NYSE:OLN) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $44.00 to $34.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective points to a potential upside of 24.25% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on OLN. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Olin from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Olin from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Olin from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Olin from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Olin from $38.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Olin currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.94.

Olin Stock Performance

OLN stock traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $27.37. The stock had a trading volume of 244,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,606,915. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 30.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.73. Olin has a fifty-two week low of $27.15 and a fifty-two week high of $60.60.

Olin (NYSE:OLN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.10. Olin had a net margin of 1.66% and a return on equity of 5.10%. Analysts predict that Olin will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Olin announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 45% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Olin

In related news, VP R Nichole Sumner sold 10,500 shares of Olin stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.75, for a total transaction of $459,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,052,450. The trade was a 30.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Olin

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OLN. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Olin by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,452,708 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $165,661,000 after acquiring an additional 685,710 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Olin by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 8,838,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $424,095,000 after acquiring an additional 531,330 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in Olin by 70.9% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 544,814 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,140,000 after acquiring an additional 225,930 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Olin by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,073,087 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $51,015,000 after acquiring an additional 172,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in Olin by 504.9% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 167,186 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $8,022,000 after acquiring an additional 139,549 shares during the last quarter. 88.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Olin

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.