AlphaQuest LLC Boosts Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 84,330.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 21,952 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,926 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Avient were worth $897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Avient by 5.7% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 23,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,201,000 after buying an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 12.9% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 14,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 185.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 180.5% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 17,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $868,000 after purchasing an additional 11,100 shares during the period. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avient in the third quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of AVNT stock opened at $40.67 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $41.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.07. Avient Co. has a 1-year low of $37.63 and a 1-year high of $54.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Avient’s payout ratio is 59.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AVNT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

About Avient

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.