Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

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

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on AVNT. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of Avient in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Avient from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Avient in a report on Monday, October 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $44.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Avient from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avient currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.38.

Avient Stock Up 1.4%

AVNT opened at $39.52 on Friday. Avient has a 1-year low of $27.48 and a 1-year high of $46.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.28.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.07. Avient had a net margin of 5.10% and a return on equity of 11.64%. The firm had revenue of $917.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $898.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, research analysts expect that Avient will post 3.20 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Avient

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVNT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Avient during the second quarter worth approximately $437,002,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Avient by 4.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,973,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,546,000 after buying an additional 192,788 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Avient by 2.7% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,012,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,355,000 after buying an additional 78,938 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Avient by 96.0% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,411,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,229,000 after buying an additional 691,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Avient in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,933,000. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Avient

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.