Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Avient Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average 1-year target price of $45.60 according to MarketBeat.
• Several institutional investors, including Northwestern Mutual and UMB Bank, significantly increased their stakes in Avient, indicating strong confidence in the company's prospects.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.0% and a payout ratio of 84.38%.

Shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.60.

Several research firms have commented on AVNT. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Avient from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Avient by 75.9% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 737 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Avient by 85.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Avient in the second quarter valued at $37,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Avient in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Avient by 57.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Avient Stock Up 6.9%

Shares of NYSE AVNT opened at $36.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Avient has a 52-week low of $27.86 and a 52-week high of $54.68. The business's 50 day moving average is $33.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.53.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $866.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $852.98 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 3.65%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Avient will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Avient's payout ratio is presently 84.38%.

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.

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