Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) Announces $0.27 Quarterly Dividend

Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 10th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of 0.27 per share on Wednesday, October 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th.

Avient has a dividend payout ratio of 34.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Avient to earn $3.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.9%.

Avient Stock Down 2.1%

Avient stock traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $34.18. The company had a trading volume of 893,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 586,490. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $35.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.71. Avient has a 12 month low of $27.86 and a 12 month high of $54.68. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.33.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $826.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $834.90 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 3.09%. Avient's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avient will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Avient

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVNT. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Avient by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 128,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,782,000 after buying an additional 1,321 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Avient by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 53,760 shares of the company's stock worth $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 2,341 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Avient by 294.8% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 9,340 shares of the company's stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 6,974 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Avient during the first quarter worth $224,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Avient by 3.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 297,976 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,073,000 after acquiring an additional 10,535 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AVNT. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Avient to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.80.

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.