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

Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a 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 $55.50.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AVNT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Avient from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th.

Insider Transactions at Avient

In other news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total transaction of $296,454.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.88% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Trust Point Inc. increased its position in shares of Avient by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 5,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Avient by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,825,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,581,000 after acquiring an additional 128,718 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Avient by 47.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avient in the 4th quarter valued at $225,000. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Avient by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $904,000 after acquiring an additional 3,078 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AVNT traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $42.64. 441,948 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 435,740. Avient has a 1 year low of $35.58 and a 1 year high of $54.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $45.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $815.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.50 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 4.66%. Avient's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Avient will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current year.

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.