Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.80.

AVNT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Baird R W raised Avient to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Avient by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Avient by 75.9% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 737 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Avient Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Avient stock traded down $0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $35.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 357,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 641,868. 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 $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. Avient has a 1-year low of $27.86 and a 1-year high of $54.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.48.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $826.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $834.90 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Avient will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

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 $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Avient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.93%.

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.