Phocas Financial Corp. Has $8.07 Million Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Phocas Financial Corp. increased its position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 194,010 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,735 shares during the period. Avient makes up about 1.1% of Phocas Financial Corp.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in Avient were worth $8,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVNT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Avient during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,313,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Avient by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,802,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,502,000 after purchasing an additional 583,179 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Avient by 19,776.2% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 564,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,218,000 after purchasing an additional 561,248 shares during the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Avient by 24.6% during the 1st quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 1,754,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,224,000 after purchasing an additional 346,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in Avient by 56.4% during the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 811,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,406,000 after purchasing an additional 292,658 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Price Performance

NYSE AVNT traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.28. The company had a trading volume of 394,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 391,821. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of 49.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.37. Avient Co. has a twelve month low of $27.73 and a twelve month high of $43.97.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $719.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $711.87 million. Avient had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 2.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Avient Co. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were paid a $0.257 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 18th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Avient’s payout ratio is 124.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday.

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.