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

Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $51.80.

Several equities analysts have commented on AVNT shares. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Avient in a research note on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

Avient Stock Up 2.1 %

AVNT stock opened at $40.33 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.84. Avient has a fifty-two week low of $37.63 and a fifty-two week high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avient will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s payout ratio is 59.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. 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.