Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.25.

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 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. Baird R W raised Avient to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avient

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Avient in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,548,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 200.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,321,791 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,012,000 after purchasing an additional 882,234 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avient by 120.2% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,460,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,675,000 after purchasing an additional 797,112 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Avient by 250.5% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 532,610 shares of the company's stock worth $21,762,000 after purchasing an additional 380,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Avient by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,185,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,180,000 after buying an additional 276,357 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avient Price Performance

NYSE:AVNT traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $36.80. 483,698 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 547,433. 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 capitalization of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. Avient has a 12 month low of $27.86 and a 12 month high of $54.68. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $35.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.94.

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

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. Avient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.02%.

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.