Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Price Target Raised to $59.00

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) had its price target lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $59.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

AVNT has been the subject of several other research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Avient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.50.

Avient Price Performance

AVNT stock opened at $49.86 on Thursday. Avient has a 1 year low of $35.33 and a 1 year high of $54.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The business’s 50-day moving average is $49.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.87.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.02. Avient had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $815.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Avient will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total value of $296,454.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avient

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

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.