Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 88,286 Avient Corporation $AVNT

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 88,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,758,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Avient as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Avient by 440.4% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,337,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,060,000 after buying an additional 1,089,744 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avient by 44.7% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,288,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,252,000 after buying an additional 397,787 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Avient by 962.3% during the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 379,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,492,000 after buying an additional 343,424 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Avient by 19.1% during the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 2,095,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,057,000 after buying an additional 335,670 shares during the period. Finally, Scopus Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Avient during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,908,000. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:AVNT opened at $35.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Avient Corporation has a 1 year low of $27.48 and a 1 year high of $44.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.93.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.02. Avient had a return on equity of 11.11% and a net margin of 4.81%.The company had revenue of $847.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $846.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. Avient’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Avient has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.890-0.890 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.930-3.170 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Avient Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 18th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 18th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avient in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $43.00 price target on Avient in a research note on Friday, May 8th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avient in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Avient from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avient has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.40.

Avient Company Profile

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.