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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on OLN shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Olin from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Olin from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Olin from $33.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Olin from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Olin from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Olin presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.80.

Olin Price Performance

Olin stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $19.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,912,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,655,997. Olin has a 12 month low of $17.66 and a 12 month high of $52.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17 and a beta of 1.54. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $20.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.78.

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

Olin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. Olin's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 156.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Olin by 160.5% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,206 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Olin in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Olin during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Olin by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,334 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Olin by 246.8% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,616 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. 88.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.