Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $42.50.

AVNT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Avient in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Avient from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Avient in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Avient in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVNT opened at $29.27 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.48. Avient has a 12 month low of $27.48 and a 12 month high of $53.61.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $806.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $823.57 million. Avient had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 10.57%. Avient’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. Avient has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.770-2.870 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Avient will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Avient by 75.9% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Avient during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Avient by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 967 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Avient during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Avient in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 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.