Brokerages Set Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Price Target at $48.60

Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.60.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AVNT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avient

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVNT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Avient by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,313,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,424,000 after acquiring an additional 79,661 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Avient by 3.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,231,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,977,000 after purchasing an additional 121,349 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Avient by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,069,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,259,000 after purchasing an additional 90,535 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Avient by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,185,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,180,000 after purchasing an additional 276,357 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Avient by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,174,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,431,000 after acquiring an additional 43,249 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avient Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:AVNT opened at $31.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.01. Avient has a 52 week low of $27.86 and a 52 week high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. Research analysts anticipate that Avient will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.02%.

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.