Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) Short Interest Update

Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,075,230 shares, an increase of 26.1% from the February 26th total of 2,439,569 shares. Currently, 3.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 681,946 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Avient during the fourth quarter worth $41,457,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Avient by 697.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,442,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,050,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261,146 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Avient by 440.4% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,337,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,060,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089,744 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avient by 147.1% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 799,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,980,000 after acquiring an additional 476,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avient by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,781,000 after acquiring an additional 410,112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE AVNT traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 614,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 849,573. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.79, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Avient has a twelve month low of $27.48 and a twelve month high of $44.85.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $760.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $750.19 million. Avient had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. Avient has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.810-0.810 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.930-3.170 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Avient will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Avient’s payout ratio is currently 123.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVNT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $46.00 target price on shares of Avient in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Avient from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avient in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 target price on Avient in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Avient from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.00.

About Avient

Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT) is a global provider of specialized and sustainable polymer materials, delivering color, additive and engineered solutions to a wide range of industries. The company’s core offerings include masterbatches, colorant systems, compounds and resins designed to enhance performance, aesthetics and environmental sustainability. Avient serves markets such as packaging, automotive, consumer goods, healthcare, electronics, and agriculture, tailoring products to meet stringent regulatory and end-use requirements.

Formed through a corporate rebranding in 2020 following the divestiture of PolyOne’s specialty businesses, Avient traces its heritage to a legacy of polymer innovation spanning decades.