Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.38.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Avient from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Avient from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Avient in a research note on Monday, October 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Avient by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Avient by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in Avient by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 22,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $799,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Avient by 51.9% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in Avient by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVNT opened at $38.93 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Avient has a 12 month low of $27.48 and a 12 month high of $46.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.24 and a 200-day moving average of $38.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.28.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Avient had a return on equity of 11.64% and a net margin of 5.10%. The business had revenue of $917.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $898.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Avient has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.800 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Avient will post 3.20 EPS for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.2825 per share. This is a boost from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.2750. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.46%.

Avient Company Profile

Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT) is a global materials company that develops and manufactures specialized polymer products and solutions. Its portfolio includes engineered materials, specialty formulations, colorants, additives, inks, and other technologies designed to improve the performance, appearance, sustainability, and processing of plastics and other materials.

The company serves customers across a range of industries, including packaging, transportation, healthcare, consumer products, electronics, building and construction, and energy.