Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT – Get Rating) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.50.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AVT shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on Avnet from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Avnet from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Avnet from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd.

Avnet Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Avnet stock opened at $44.89 on Thursday. Avnet has a 1 year low of $35.45 and a 1 year high of $50.19. The business has a 50-day moving average of $44.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.11. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.53 billion. Avnet had a return on equity of 18.80% and a net margin of 3.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Avnet will post 7.2 EPS for the current year.

Avnet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 1st will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 28th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Avnet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avnet

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVT. Natixis Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in Avnet during the first quarter worth about $448,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Avnet during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,019,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Avnet by 33.1% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 64,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,598,000 after purchasing an additional 15,921 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in Avnet by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 36,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,472,000 after purchasing an additional 3,372 shares during the period. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its position in Avnet by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 63,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,658,000 after purchasing an additional 5,646 shares during the period. 97.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avnet Company Profile

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Avnet, Inc engages in the distribution and sale of electronic components. It operates through the Electronic Components and Farnell segments. The Electronic Components segment markets and sells semiconductors, interconnect, passive and electromechanical devices, and integrated components. The Farnell segment is involved in the distribution of electronic components and related products to the electronic system design community utilizing multi-channel sales and marketing resources.