KeyCorp Initiates Coverage on Avient (NYSE:AVNT)

Key Points

• KeyCorp has initiated coverage on Avient (NYSE: AVNT) with an "overweight" rating and a price target of $48.00, indicating a potential upside of 34.12% from its previous close.
• In contrast, Robert W. Baird has lowered its target price on Avient from $43.00 to $37.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating.
• Avient reported $0.80 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with revenue also beating estimates at $866.50 million, a 1.9% increase year-over-year.

Research analysts at KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp's price target points to a potential upside of 36.42% from the stock's current price. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Avient's Q3 2025 earnings at $0.67 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.51 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.74 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.79 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.89 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.78 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.58 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $3.03 EPS.

Separately, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Avient from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.00.

Avient Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of AVNT traded down $1.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $35.19. The stock had a trading volume of 1,158,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 487,977. Avient has a 1-year low of $27.86 and a 1-year high of $54.68. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $35.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.33. The company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The business had revenue of $866.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $852.98 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Avient has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.700-0.700 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 2.770-2.870 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Avient will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avient

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVNT. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 6.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,348,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $161,576,000 after purchasing an additional 279,064 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 0.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,513,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,586,000 after purchasing an additional 27,608 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 9.1% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,118,170 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,871,000 after purchasing an additional 260,670 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 0.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,252,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,797,000 after purchasing an additional 19,813 shares during the period. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 4.8% in the second quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,760,151 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,870,000 after purchasing an additional 81,393 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.