Short Interest in Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) Rises By 26.1%

Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,075,230 shares, a growth of 26.1% from the February 26th total of 2,439,569 shares. Currently, 3.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 681,946 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVNT has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research raised Avient from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Avient from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avient in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $46.00 target price on shares of Avient in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.00.

Avient Price Performance

NYSE AVNT traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $35.45. The company had a trading volume of 231,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 878,540. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $37.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 39.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Avient has a twelve month low of $27.48 and a twelve month high of $44.85.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. Avient had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 2.51%.The company had revenue of $760.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $750.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. Avient’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Avient has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.810-0.810 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.930-3.170 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Avient will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 123.60%.

Institutional Trading of Avient

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Avient during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,457,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Avient by 697.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,442,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261,146 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Avient by 440.4% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,337,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,060,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089,744 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 147.1% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 799,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,980,000 after purchasing an additional 476,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avient by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,781,000 after purchasing an additional 410,112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.