Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avient (NYSE:AVNT) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Avient from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Avient from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Avient in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $43.00 target price on shares of Avient in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target on shares of Avient in a report on Friday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.71.

Avient Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:AVNT opened at $43.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.29. Avient has a 52-week low of $27.48 and a 52-week high of $46.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $917.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $898.53 million. Avient had a return on equity of 11.64% and a net margin of 5.10%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. Avient has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.800 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avient will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Avient’s payout ratio is currently 59.46%.

Institutional Trading of Avient

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in Avient during the second quarter worth about $375,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Avient in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $905,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Avient by 3,490.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,878,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,359,000 after purchasing an additional 3,770,736 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Avient by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Avient during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

About Avient

Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT) is a global provider of specialized and sustainable polymer materials, delivering color, additive and engineered solutions to a wide range of industries. The company’s core offerings include masterbatches, colorant systems, compounds and resins designed to enhance performance, aesthetics and environmental sustainability. Avient serves markets such as packaging, automotive, consumer goods, healthcare, electronics, and agriculture, tailoring products to meet stringent regulatory and end-use requirements.

Formed through a corporate rebranding in 2020 following the divestiture of PolyOne’s specialty businesses, Avient traces its heritage to a legacy of polymer innovation spanning decades.