Avient Corporation (AVNT) - What Are Brokerages Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analysts have a “Hold” consensus on Avient, with four holds and three buys among seven covering firms; the average 12-month price target is $47.88. Recent targets include Truist’s increase to $56 and Barclays’ increase to $50.
• Avient beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $0.86 versus $0.80 expected and revenue of $891.2 million versus $857.5 million expected; revenue rose 10.5% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.275 to $0.2825 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.13 and a 2.5% yield.

Shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $47.88.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AVNT. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Avient from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Avient from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $54.00 price target on shares of Avient in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Avient from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Avient from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avient

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Avient in the 2nd quarter valued at about $437,002,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Avient by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,973,887 shares of the company's stock worth $180,546,000 after purchasing an additional 192,788 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 2.7% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,012,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,355,000 after buying an additional 78,938 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 96.0% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,411,254 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,229,000 after purchasing an additional 691,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of Avient in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,933,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of AVNT stock opened at $45.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Avient has a 52-week low of $27.48 and a 52-week high of $49.08. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $41.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.73.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. Avient had a return on equity of 11.64% and a net margin of 5.10%. The company had revenue of $891.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $857.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avient will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a $0.2825 dividend. This is an increase from Avient's previous quarterly dividend of $0.2750. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Avient's dividend payout ratio is 56.41%.

About Avient

Avient Corporation NYSE: AVNT is a global provider of specialized and sustainable polymer materials. The company develops, formulates and manufactures engineered materials, colorants, additives and performance-enhancing solutions used to improve the appearance, durability, processing and functionality of plastic products.

Its offerings include specialty polymer formulations, thermoplastic compounds, color and additive concentrates, advanced composites, barrier technologies and recycled or bio-based material solutions.

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