Trexquant Investment LP Reduces Stock Position in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN)

Trexquant Investment LP decreased its position in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN - Free Report) by 38.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 104,793 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 64,156 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.09% of Olin worth $3,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Olin by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,998 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Olin by 1,052.3% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 53,296 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,557,000 after purchasing an additional 48,671 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Olin by 8,678.3% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 62,677 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,007,000 after purchasing an additional 61,963 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Olin by 37.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 125,913 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,042,000 after purchasing an additional 34,485 shares during the period. Finally, First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in Olin during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,278,000. 88.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at Olin

In other Olin news, CEO Kenneth Todd Lane bought 7,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.06 per share, for a total transaction of $203,435.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 7,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,435. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Olin Stock Up 4.0 %

NYSE:OLN traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.44. 2,495,243 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,522,099. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business's 50-day moving average price is $24.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.31. Olin Co. has a 1 year low of $17.66 and a 1 year high of $57.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71 and a beta of 1.50.

Olin (NYSE:OLN - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. Analysts predict that Olin Co. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Olin Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Olin's payout ratio is 88.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Olin from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective 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. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Olin from $34.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup decreased 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut 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 research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.44.

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.