Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued 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 $46.80.

Several brokerages have recently commented on AVNT. Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

Avient Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE AVNT traded down $0.07 on Friday, reaching $36.51. The stock had a trading volume of 393,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 554,157. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Avient has a 1 year low of $27.86 and a 1 year high of $54.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.33. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. The business 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 business posted $0.76 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Avient will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Avient's payout ratio is 100.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avient

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Avient in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,344,000. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avient by 5.3% in 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 lifted its position in Avient by 3.2% in the fourth 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 during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Avient by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 276,810 shares of the company's stock worth $11,310,000 after purchasing an additional 6,609 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Avient during the fourth quarter worth $494,000. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company's stock.

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.