Baird R W Upgrades Avient (NYSE:AVNT) to “Hold”

Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient (NYSE:AVNT) to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Avient in a research report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.80.

Avient Stock Performance

NYSE AVNT opened at $40.33 on Friday. 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 current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.87.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Avient will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Choreo LLC boosted its position in Avient by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 44.9% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Company Profile

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.