Olin (NYSE:OLN) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $26.28 and last traded at $26.60, with a volume of 34409 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OLN has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Olin from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Olin from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Olin in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Olin from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Olin from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Olin currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.44.

Olin Trading Down 1.1 %

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $31.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.07. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 29.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

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

Olin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Olin's payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Olin announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 buy up to 45% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Olin

In other news, CEO Kenneth Todd Lane purchased 7,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.06 per share, for a total transaction of $203,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 7,250 shares in the company, valued at $203,435. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Olin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Olin by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,887 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Olin by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 143,062 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,835,000 after purchasing an additional 51,051 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Olin in the third quarter valued at about $916,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Olin by 2.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,295,699 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $62,168,000 after purchasing an additional 37,043 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Olin by 82.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,461 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 2,476 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.67% 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.