KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $1.05 Million in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 31,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,051,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in Olin by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 5,833 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $197,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Connable Office Inc. boosted its holdings in Olin by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 6,207 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in Olin by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,930 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Olin by 14.4% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,998 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Olin by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,887 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. 88.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Olin Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OLN traded down $1.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.09. 3,100,691 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,473,418. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.32 and a beta of 1.50. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $26.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.27. Olin Co. has a 52 week low of $19.32 and a 52 week high of $59.31.

Olin (NYSE:OLN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.10. Olin had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 1.66%. Sell-side analysts predict that Olin Co. will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Olin Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Olin's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Olin announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 12th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 45% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OLN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Olin from $34.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lowered Olin from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Olin from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $30.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Olin from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $28.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Olin from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kenneth Todd Lane acquired 7,250 shares of Olin stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.06 per share, for a total transaction of $203,435.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $203,435. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.