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

Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned 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 a report on the stock in the last year is $46.80.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th.

Avient Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE AVNT traded down $0.15 on Wednesday, reaching $32.90. The company had a trading volume of 2,024,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 571,201. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.05. Avient has a 1-year low of $27.86 and a 1-year high of $54.68. The company's fifty day moving average is $35.34 and its 200-day moving average is $38.36.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $834.90 million. Avient had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Avient will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Avient's dividend payout ratio is 100.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avient in the 1st quarter valued at about $50,471,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Avient in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,548,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Avient in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,160,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 200.7% in 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 during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 period. 95.48% of the stock is currently 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.