Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 35.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,098 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Avient were worth $55,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Avient by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 12,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Avient by 3.1% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avient by 11.2% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Avient by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 25,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in shares of Avient by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 22,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avient Stock Up 2.1 %

AVNT stock opened at $50.94 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.20. Avient Co. has a 12 month low of $27.73 and a 12 month high of $51.51. The company has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.30, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.47.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. Avient had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 3.70%. The firm had revenue of $850.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $841.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Avient’s payout ratio is currently 93.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Avient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Avient from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday.

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.