Citizens National Bank Trust Department Sells 2,520 Shares of Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN)

Citizens National Bank Trust Department trimmed its holdings in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) by 34.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,887 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,520 shares during the quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Olin were worth $165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in Olin by 24.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 685,710 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in Olin by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 8,838,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $424,095,000 after purchasing an additional 531,330 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in Olin by 70.9% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 544,814 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,140,000 after purchasing an additional 225,930 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Olin by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,073,087 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $51,015,000 after purchasing an additional 172,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in Olin by 504.9% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 167,186 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,022,000 after purchasing an additional 139,549 shares during the last quarter. 88.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Olin from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Olin from $44.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Olin from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Olin from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $45.00 to $30.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Olin from $40.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Olin currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.44.

Olin Price Performance

NYSE OLN opened at $27.68 on Thursday. Olin Co. has a 12 month low of $26.48 and a 12 month high of $60.60. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $31.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Olin (NYSE:OLN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.09 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Olin Co. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Olin announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 45% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kenneth Todd Lane bought 7,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 7,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,435. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.