Baird R W Upgrades Avient (NYSE:AVNT) to Hold

Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) to a hold rating in a report released on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on AVNT. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.80.

Avient Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVNT traded up $0.35 on Friday, reaching $40.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 706,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 483,671. Avient has a 52-week low of $37.63 and a 52-week high of $54.68. The company has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.88.

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Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Avient will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Avient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avient

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVNT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Avient in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,548,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Avient by 200.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,321,791 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,012,000 after buying an additional 882,234 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Avient by 120.2% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,460,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,675,000 after buying an additional 797,112 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 9.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.