Aristeia Capital L.L.C. Buys 13,924 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Aristeia Capital L.L.C. boosted its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 270.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,073 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,924 shares during the period. Aristeia Capital L.L.C.'s holdings in Avient were worth $779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Avient by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 608,621 shares of the company's stock worth $30,626,000 after buying an additional 111,489 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avient in the fourth quarter worth $8,344,000. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 12,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in shares of Avient by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 42,076 shares of the company's stock worth $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Avient by 120.2% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,460,481 shares of the company's stock worth $59,675,000 after purchasing an additional 797,112 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Avient Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of Avient stock traded up $1.33 on Thursday, hitting $37.45. 305,859 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 544,917. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. Avient Co. has a 12-month low of $27.86 and a 12-month high of $54.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.02.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $826.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $834.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. Avient's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Avient's dividend payout ratio is 59.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on AVNT shares. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Baird R W raised Avient to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.20.

About Avient

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.