Olin (NYSE:OLN) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Olin Corporation's shares gapped down to $25.03 after Citigroup downgraded its rating from "buy" to "neutral," with a new price target of $25.00.
• Other analysts, including Mizuho and UBS, also lowered their price targets to between $22.00 and $23.00, with most giving a "neutral" rating on the stock.
• Olin recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20, yielding 3.2%, and reported a revenue increase compared to the previous year, although it missed earnings expectations.

Shares of Olin Corporation (NYSE:OLN - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Citigroup downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a neutral rating. The stock had previously closed at $25.62, but opened at $25.03. Citigroup now has a $25.00 price target on the stock. Olin shares last traded at $25.29, with a volume of 314,394 shares traded.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Olin from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Olin from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Olin from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Fermium Researc upgraded Olin to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Olin from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Olin

In related news, VP Teresa M. Vermillion sold 6,000 shares of Olin stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.11, for a total transaction of $126,660.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 17,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at $363,070.89. The trade was a 25.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Olin

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Olin by 6.5% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 1,357 shares during the period. V. M. Manning & CO. Inc. bought a new position in Olin in the 2nd quarter worth about $989,000. Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Olin by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC now owns 797,436 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $16,020,000 after acquiring an additional 94,970 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Olin by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 24,453 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $491,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Olin by 67.6% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 4,400 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.67% of the company's stock.

Olin Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -211.10 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company's 50-day moving average is $22.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.75.

Olin (NYSE:OLN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.04). Olin had a negative net margin of 0.21% and a negative return on equity of 0.13%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Olin Corporation will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Olin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 28th. Olin's payout ratio is presently -666.67%.

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.

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