Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the four research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $54.50.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $49.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Avient from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday.

Avient Stock Up 0.7 %

AVNT stock opened at $51.28 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $47.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.97. Avient has a fifty-two week low of $27.73 and a fifty-two week high of $51.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.59, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.47.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.04. Avient had a net margin of 3.70% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The firm had revenue of $850.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $841.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Avient will post 2.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avient

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 28.8% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,470,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,813,000 after acquiring an additional 328,773 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 13.2% in the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,359,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,010,000 after acquiring an additional 158,163 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Avient in the second quarter valued at approximately $15,520,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 318.6% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 50,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,218,000 after acquiring an additional 38,683 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 6.9% in the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 404,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,568,000 after acquiring an additional 26,135 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is 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.