Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at KeyCorp

Key Points

• KeyCorp has upgraded Avient (NYSE:AVNT) to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating increased investor confidence in the company's future performance.
• Avient's recent earnings report showed a profit of $0.80 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $866.50 million, marking a 1.9% year-over-year increase.
• Despite the upgrade, Robert W. Baird has lowered Avient's price target from $43.00 to $37.00, reflecting mixed views among analysts regarding the stock's performance.

Investment analysts at KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set an "overweight" rating on the stock. 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, 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 lowered their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.00.

Avient Stock Performance

NYSE:AVNT traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $36.29. 75,415 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 661,077. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.36, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.40. Avient has a 52-week low of $27.86 and a 52-week high of $54.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company's 50 day moving average price is $35.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.45.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $866.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $852.98 million. Avient had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 10.57%. Avient's revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Avient has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.700-0.700 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 2.770-2.870 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Avient will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avient

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Avient by 6.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,348,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $161,576,000 after acquiring an additional 279,064 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Avient by 0.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,513,732 shares of the company's stock worth $129,586,000 after acquiring an additional 27,608 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Avient by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,118,170 shares of the company's stock worth $115,871,000 after buying an additional 260,670 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Avient by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,252,855 shares of the company's stock worth $72,797,000 after buying an additional 19,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,760,151 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,870,000 after acquiring an additional 81,393 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.