Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the fourteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $51.86.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of Olin from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Olin from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Olin in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Olin from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Olin from $55.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Olin

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Olin by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,452,708 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $165,661,000 after acquiring an additional 685,710 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Olin by 429.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 610,153 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $28,769,000 after purchasing an additional 494,976 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Olin by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,414,265 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $317,897,000 after purchasing an additional 384,888 shares during the last quarter. Lodge Hill Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Olin by 78.9% in the 1st quarter. Lodge Hill Capital LLC now owns 510,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $29,988,000 after purchasing an additional 225,000 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Olin by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,741,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $176,396,000 after purchasing an additional 194,755 shares during the last quarter. 88.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Olin Stock Performance

Olin stock traded up $1.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $44.29. The company had a trading volume of 4,563,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,558,387. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $44.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.28. Olin has a 52 week low of $39.47 and a 52 week high of $60.60.

Olin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Olin's payout ratio is 64.52%.

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.