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

Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the five analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $54.00.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AVNT. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th.

Avient Price Performance

AVNT stock opened at $42.78 on Thursday. Avient has a 1 year low of $37.63 and a 1 year high of $54.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $41.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.31. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.51.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Avient will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.02%.

Institutional Trading of Avient

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVNT. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Avient during the 3rd quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 185.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 948 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.