Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT) Stock Price Up 6.4% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Avnet shares rose 6.4% to about $98.88, trading above both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average analyst price target of $93.25.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.28 versus the $1.80 consensus estimate and revenue of $8.30 billion, up 47.7% year over year. Avnet also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.35 to $0.37 per share, implying a 1.5% yield.
• Institutional ownership is high at 95.78%, including major new or expanded positions from BlackRock and California State Teachers’ Retirement System. However, Avnet’s CEO and a senior vice president recently sold sizable portions of their holdings.

Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 6.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $97.76 and last traded at $98.8780. 389,586 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 1,222,608 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Avnet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Avnet from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Avnet from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avnet from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Avnet from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.25.

Avnet Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $89.69 and a 200-day moving average of $80.82. The company has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.78.

Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.56 billion. Avnet had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.21%.The firm's revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. Avnet has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Avnet, Inc. will post 10.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avnet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from Avnet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. Avnet's payout ratio is currently 37.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avnet news, CEO Philip Gallagher sold 51,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.46, for a total transaction of $5,110,074.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 168,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,632,158.58. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Ryan Mccoy sold 32,052 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.10, for a total transaction of $2,919,937.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 76,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,985,001.40. The trade was a 29.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avnet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avnet in the second quarter worth $916,146,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Avnet by 8,833.7% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 8,394,556 shares of the company's stock worth $745,604,000 after buying an additional 8,300,591 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Avnet in the 2nd quarter worth $277,153,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Avnet in the 4th quarter worth $62,393,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Avnet in the 2nd quarter worth $91,844,000. Institutional investors own 95.78% of the company's stock.

About Avnet

Avnet, Inc is a global technology distributor that helps manufacturers, engineers and other customers source electronic components and develop products. The company connects semiconductor and electronic-component suppliers with original equipment manufacturers, electronic manufacturing services providers and independent design firms.

Its offerings include semiconductors, embedded processors and computing products, memory, interconnect solutions, passive and electromechanical components, and related hardware and software.

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