Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,020,000 shares, a decline of 9.7% from the May 31st total of 1,130,000 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 440,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AVNT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Avient from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Avient from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.20.

Avient Stock Performance

NYSE:AVNT traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $42.59. 223,418 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 454,008. Avient has a 52 week low of $27.73 and a 52 week high of $47.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.41.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.07. Avient had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 9.79%. The firm had revenue of $829.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Avient will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.257 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 21st. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Avient in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 88.6% during 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. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Avient by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Avient in the 1st quarter worth approximately $133,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in Avient by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. 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.