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 assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.60.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AVNT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Avient from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

Avient Trading Up 1.2%

AVNT stock traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $35.89. 150,016 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 683,828. Avient has a 52-week low of $27.86 and a 52-week high of $54.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's fifty day moving average is $33.95 and its 200-day moving average is $36.33.

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

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Avient's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.38%.

Institutional Trading of Avient

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Avient by 75.9% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 737 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Avient in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in 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 period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in Avient in the second quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in 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 period. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company's stock.

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.