Materion (MTRN) Competitors

Materion (NYSE:MTRN) and Avient (NYSE:AVNT) are both mid-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk and media sentiment.

Do analysts prefer MTRN or AVNT?

Materion currently has a consensus price target of $112.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.60%. Avient has a consensus price target of $46.80, indicating a potential upside of 38.63%. Given Avient's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Avient is more favorable than Materion.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Materion	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Avient	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.71

Does the media favor MTRN or AVNT?

In the previous week, Materion had 5 more articles in the media than Avient. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Materion and 9 mentions for Avient. Materion's average media sentiment score of 0.70 beat Avient's score of 0.42 indicating that Materion is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Materion	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Avient	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is MTRN or AVNT more profitable?

Avient has a net margin of 3.09% compared to Materion's net margin of 0.94%. Materion's return on equity of 12.69% beat Avient's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Materion	0.94%	12.69%	6.48%
Avient	3.09%	10.48%	4.16%

Is MTRN or AVNT a better dividend stock?

Materion pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Avient pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Materion pays out 112.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Avient pays out 100.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Materion has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years and Avient has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Avient is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, MTRN or AVNT?

Avient has higher revenue and earnings than Materion. Avient is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Materion, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Materion	$1.68B	1.29	$5.89M	$0.50	210.14
Avient	$3.24B	0.95	$169.50M	$1.07	31.55

Which has more risk and volatility, MTRN or AVNT?

Materion has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Avient has a beta of 1.38, indicating that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals believe in MTRN or AVNT?

93.6% of Materion shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.5% of Avient shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.6% of Materion shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Avient shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Avient beats Materion on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.