Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.80.

Several research analysts have weighed in on AVNT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock.

Avient Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of AVNT stock opened at $38.43 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.02 and its 200-day moving average is $45.56. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. Avient has a 52-week low of $37.49 and a 52-week high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. Sell-side analysts predict that Avient will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Choreo LLC boosted its position in shares of Avient by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Avient by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avient by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Avient by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Avient by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.