Olin (NYSE:OLN) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Olin from a "sell" to a "hold" rating in its latest report.
• Olin's analyst consensus remains a Hold with a consensus target price of $25.64, despite divergent recent price-target moves (UBS $29, RBC $30, Citigroup $26, Morgan Stanley $18).
• Olin reported Q4 EPS of ($0.58) in line with estimates and revenue of $1.67B that beat expectations, while insiders sold about 99,379 shares (~$2.24M) over the past three months.

Olin (NYSE:OLN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

OLN has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Olin from $21.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $30.00 target price on Olin and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup lifted their target price on Olin from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Olin in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Olin from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Olin currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.64.

Olin Stock Performance

OLN stock opened at $28.96 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $25.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a PE ratio of -76.21 and a beta of 1.37. Olin has a 1-year low of $18.08 and a 1-year high of $30.46.

Olin (NYSE:OLN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.58) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.58). The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Olin had a negative return on equity of 0.48% and a negative net margin of 0.63%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.09 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Olin will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP R Nichole Sumner sold 4,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.49, for a total value of $106,827.50. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 24,771 shares in the company, valued at $557,099.79. The trade was a 16.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Angela M. Castle sold 2,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.25, for a total value of $57,690.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,054. This trade represents a 60.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 99,379 shares of company stock worth $2,238,298 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Olin

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Olin by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 5,189 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its position in shares of Olin by 0.9% in the third quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 60,359 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,508,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Olin by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 97,616 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Olin by 9.9% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 6,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Olin by 2.6% in the second 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.67% of the company's stock.

About Olin

Olin Corporation is a diversified manufacturer specializing in chemical products and ammunition. The company's core business activities encompass the production and distribution of chlor-alkali products, epoxy resins and derivatives, and small-caliber ammunition under the Winchester brand. Olin's chemical operations supply chlorine, caustic soda and related co-products to a wide range of end markets, including water treatment, pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals and general industrial applications.

In its Chlor Alkali Products & Vinyls segment, Olin operates multiple manufacturing facilities that produce chlorine and sodium hydroxide, along with vinyl chloride monomer and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) compounds.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.