Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

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

Several brokerages have weighed in on AVNT. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of Avient stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total transaction of $296,454.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Avient in the 2nd quarter worth about $15,520,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in shares of Avient by 4.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 114.6% during the second quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 241,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,559,000 after purchasing an additional 129,171 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Avient by 39.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 155,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,799,000 after purchasing an additional 44,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Avient by 48.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,000 after buying an additional 10,088 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AVNT opened at $47.51 on Friday. Avient has a 12-month low of $35.50 and a 12-month high of $54.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $49.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.50.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $815.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $797.50 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 4.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Avient will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Avient’s payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

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.