Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Up 6.1% After Earnings Beat

Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) shares were up 6.1% during trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $33.40 and last traded at $33.49. Approximately 564,388 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 673,774 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.57.

The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $866.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $852.98 million. Avient had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Avient’s payout ratio is presently 100.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Avient by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,348,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,576,000 after acquiring an additional 279,064 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 0.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,513,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,586,000 after purchasing an additional 27,608 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Avient by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,118,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,871,000 after buying an additional 260,670 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Avient by 4.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,522,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,576,000 after acquiring an additional 62,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avient in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $50,471,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Trading Up 6.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.55, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.00.

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.