Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Receives $55.50 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.50.

A number of analysts recently commented on AVNT shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Insider Transactions at Avient

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avient

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVNT. State Street Corp increased its stake in Avient by 3.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,231,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,977,000 after acquiring an additional 121,349 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Avient by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,057,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,166,000 after purchasing an additional 65,452 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,936,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,818,000 after buying an additional 149,283 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Avient by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,174,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,431,000 after buying an additional 43,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Avient by 1.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,696,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,371,000 after buying an additional 17,976 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avient Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVNT opened at $47.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Avient has a 1-year low of $35.50 and a 1-year high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $815.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.50 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 4.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Avient will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. This is an increase from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

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.