Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Short Interest Update

Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,630,000 shares, an increase of 28.3% from the October 31st total of 1,270,000 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 479,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Avient from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.50.

Avient Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Avient stock traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $50.88. The company had a trading volume of 6,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 460,669. Avient has a 52-week low of $34.61 and a 52-week high of $54.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.79 and a 200 day moving average of $46.70.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.02. Avient had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $815.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Avient will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Avient’s payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Insider Activity

In other Avient news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of Avient stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total value of $296,454.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVNT. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 12,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Avient by 35.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Avient by 21.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Avient by 81.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Avient by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.