Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $55.50.

AVNT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVNT opened at $40.86 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $48.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.87. Avient has a 1 year low of $35.50 and a 1 year high of $54.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 25.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.50.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.02. The business 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Avient will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avient news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of Avient stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total transaction of $296,454.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVNT. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in Avient by 4.3% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,522,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,620,000 after purchasing an additional 63,138 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Avient by 114.6% during the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 241,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,559,000 after acquiring an additional 129,171 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Avient by 39.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 155,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,799,000 after acquiring an additional 44,026 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Avient by 48.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,000 after acquiring an additional 10,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Avient by 288.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 19,401 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.