Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com 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 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.60.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AVNT shares. Baird R W raised Avient to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th.

Avient Trading Up 0.5 %

Avient stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $31.93. The stock had a trading volume of 295,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 545,992. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41. Avient has a 52 week low of $27.86 and a 52 week high of $54.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.88.

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Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. Analysts forecast that Avient will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Avient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVNT. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Avient by 649.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 19,431 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Avient by 57.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in Avient by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 45,093 shares of the company's stock worth $1,676,000 after acquiring an additional 2,626 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Avient by 85.8% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,126 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the period. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new position in Avient in the first quarter worth approximately $56,000. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company's stock.

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.