Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,020,000 shares, a decrease of 9.7% from the May 31st total of 1,130,000 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 440,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVNT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Avient from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Avient from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Avient from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.20.

Avient Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of AVNT traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.59. 223,418 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 454,008. Avient has a 52 week low of $27.73 and a 52 week high of $47.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $44.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.41. The company has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.04, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.47.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.07. Avient had a return on equity of 9.79% and a net margin of 3.37%. The business had revenue of $829.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avient will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 21st will be given a dividend of $0.257 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 21st. Avient’s payout ratio is currently 89.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avient

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Avient during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,628,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in shares of Avient by 17,378.2% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 482,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,053,000 after buying an additional 479,639 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Avient by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,438,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,937,000 after acquiring an additional 384,452 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Avient by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,724,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,821,000 after acquiring an additional 381,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 328,773 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

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.