Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $54.50.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AVNT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Avient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $49.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Avient from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of Avient stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total transaction of $296,454.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVNT. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Avient by 162.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 748,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,680,000 after buying an additional 463,919 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 836.9% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 480,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,962,000 after acquiring an additional 428,971 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Avient by 120.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 784,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,460,000 after acquiring an additional 428,624 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in Avient by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,470,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,813,000 after purchasing an additional 328,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC bought a new stake in Avient during the second quarter worth approximately $11,135,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Avient stock opened at $50.64 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Avient has a 1-year low of $33.64 and a 1-year high of $54.68. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $48.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.25. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.26, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.48.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $815.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.50 million. Avient had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. Avient’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Avient will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Avient’s payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

About Avient

Avient Corporation operates as a formulator of material solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America, and Asia. It operates in two segments, Color, Additives and Inks; and Specialty Engineered Materials. The Color, Additives and Inks segment offers custom color and additive concentrates in solid and liquid form for thermoplastics, dispersions for thermosets, and specialty inks; custom-formulated liquid system, such as polyester, vinyl, natural rubber and latex, polyurethane, and silicone; and proprietary inks.