Avient Corporation (AVNT) – What Are Researchers Thinking About This Stock?

Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.75.

Several analysts have commented on the company. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Avient in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research downgraded Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Avient from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avient from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Avient from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th.

Avient Stock Performance

NYSE AVNT opened at $46.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Avient has a 1 year low of $27.48 and a 1 year high of $49.08. The company has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.86.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $891.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $857.49 million. Avient had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 5.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Avient will post 3.28 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 is an increase from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.2750. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avient

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Abel Hall LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 12,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Avient by 18.1% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Avient by 3.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in Avient by 1.8% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 22,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Avient by 51.9% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

About Avient

Avient Corporation is a global provider of specialty polymer materials, services and solutions. Its offerings include colorants, additives, specialty engineered compounds and other materials designed to enhance the performance, appearance or processing of plastics and other polymers. The company serves customers across industries such as packaging, healthcare, transportation, consumer products and construction. Avient’s products include color and additive concentrates, specialty thermoplastic compounds, and high-performance materials, including advanced fibers and composites.