Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Receives $55.50 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.50.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Avient Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE AVNT opened at $49.80 on Friday. Avient has a 52-week low of $35.50 and a 52-week high of $54.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.74, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.02. Avient had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 4.66%. The company had revenue of $815.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. Avient’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Avient will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.58%.

Insider Activity at Avient

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total value of $296,454.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Avient by 81.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Avient by 88.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avient by 58.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Avient by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of Avient during the 2nd quarter worth about $59,000. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Avient

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.