Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) to Issue $0.20 Quarterly Dividend

Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 19th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of 0.20 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th.

Olin has a payout ratio of 27.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Olin to earn $3.02 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.5%.

Olin Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of Olin stock traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,374,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,793,941. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.88 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.71 and a 200 day moving average of $39.31. Olin has a 52-week low of $26.48 and a 52-week high of $60.60.

Olin (NYSE:OLN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.10. Olin had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 1.66%. On average, equities analysts predict that Olin will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on OLN shares. Barclays cut their target price on Olin from $43.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America upgraded Olin from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $48.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Olin from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Olin from $44.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Olin from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Olin currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kenneth Todd Lane bought 7,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.06 per share, with a total value of $203,435.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 7,250 shares in the company, valued at $203,435. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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

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.