Investors Buy Large Volume of Olin Call Options (NYSE:OLN)

Olin Corporation (NYSE:OLN) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 4,140 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 50% compared to the average volume of 2,753 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Olin

In other news, VP R Nichole Sumner sold 4,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.49, for a total value of $106,827.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 24,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $557,099.79. The trade was a 16.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Angela M. Castle sold 2,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.25, for a total transaction of $57,690.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,054. The trade was a 60.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 99,379 shares of company stock valued at $2,238,298. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Olin

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Olin during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Olin by 115.2% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,231 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in Olin during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Olin by 712.7% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,341 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Olin by 114.0% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on OLN. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Olin from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Olin from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research cut Olin from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Olin from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Olin in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Olin presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.73.

Olin Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OLN traded up $0.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $28.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,352,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,278,491. The firm has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of -75.20 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.02. Olin has a twelve month low of $17.66 and a twelve month high of $29.19.

Olin (NYSE:OLN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.58) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.58). The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. Olin had a negative return on equity of 0.48% and a negative net margin of 0.63%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.09 EPS. Research analysts predict that Olin will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Olin Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Olin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -210.53%.

About Olin

Olin Corporation is a diversified manufacturer specializing in chemical products and ammunition. The company’s core business activities encompass the production and distribution of chlor-alkali products, epoxy resins and derivatives, and small-caliber ammunition under the Winchester brand. Olin’s chemical operations supply chlorine, caustic soda and related co-products to a wide range of end markets, including water treatment, pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals and general industrial applications.

In its Chlor Alkali Products & Vinyls segment, Olin operates multiple manufacturing facilities that produce chlorine and sodium hydroxide, along with vinyl chloride monomer and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) compounds.