Short Interest in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) Grows By 23.0%

Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,610,000 shares, a growth of 23.0% from the April 30th total of 4,560,000 shares. Currently, 4.9% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,930,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Olin from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Olin from $33.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Olin from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Mizuho set a $23.00 price objective on Olin in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Olin from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.80.

Olin Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OLN traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $20.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,721,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,645,320. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.23 and a beta of 1.54. 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 fifty day moving average of $20.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.07. Olin has a 52 week low of $17.66 and a 52 week high of $52.17.

Olin (NYSE:OLN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $0.14. Olin had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 1.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Olin will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Olin Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Olin's payout ratio is presently 156.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Olin

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Olin by 48.2% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 90,214 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,187,000 after buying an additional 29,344 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Olin by 6.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 317,472 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $7,696,000 after purchasing an additional 20,047 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Olin during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,897,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Olin by 57.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 588,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $14,268,000 after purchasing an additional 215,235 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Olin by 467.9% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 13,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 11,374 shares during the period. 88.67% of the stock is owned by 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.