Citigroup Cuts Olin (NYSE:OLN) Price Target to $45.00

Olin (NYSE:OLN) had its price objective lowered by Citigroup from $48.00 to $45.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Olin from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Olin from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Olin from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Olin from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Olin from $48.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.14.

Olin Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of OLN opened at $34.10 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.43. Olin has a 12-month low of $34.07 and a 12-month high of $60.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Olin announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 12th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 45% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Olin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Olin’s payout ratio is 64.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP R Nichole Sumner sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 24,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,052,450. This trade represents a 30.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Olin

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OLN. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Olin by 88.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 589 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Olin in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Olin by 357.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 915 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Olin during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Olin in the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. 88.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.