Brokerages Set Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Target Price at $54.00

Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Buy" by the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $54.00.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AVNT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th.

Avient Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE AVNT traded down $0.71 on Thursday, hitting $43.27. The company had a trading volume of 651,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 564,385. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Avient has a 12-month low of $37.63 and a 12-month high of $54.68. The business has a 50 day moving average of $42.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.31.

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

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avient

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVNT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Avient in the fourth quarter worth about $50,548,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Avient by 200.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,321,791 shares of the company's stock worth $54,012,000 after acquiring an additional 882,234 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 120.2% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,460,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,675,000 after purchasing an additional 797,112 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 120.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 784,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,460,000 after purchasing an additional 428,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Avient by 250.5% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 532,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,762,000 after purchasing an additional 380,657 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.