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

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

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AVNT. Baird R W upgraded Avient to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock.

Avient Stock Performance

NYSE:AVNT traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.80. 483,698 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 548,170. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $35.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.88. Avient has a fifty-two week low of $27.86 and a fifty-two week high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts' expectations of $834.90 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Avient will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Avient's dividend payout ratio is 100.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVNT. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Avient by 85.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,126 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Avient by 57.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Avient by 2,450.0% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,479 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avient in the first quarter worth approximately $56,000. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Company Profile

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.