Avnet (NYSE:AVT) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Longbow Research from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports.
A number of other analysts have also issued reports on AVT. ValuEngine raised Avnet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Avnet from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Goldman Sachs Group raised Avnet from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 5th. TheStreet raised Avnet from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, November 10th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered Avnet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Avnet has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.57.
Shares of Avnet (NYSE:AVT) traded up $1.96 on Friday, hitting $43.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,537,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 605,614. The firm has a market capitalization of $4,996.72, a PE ratio of 10.79, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.09. Avnet has a 12 month low of $35.67 and a 12 month high of $48.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.78.
Avnet announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, November 10th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
In other Avnet news, CEO Amelio J. William bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $39.16 per share, with a total value of $117,480.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Avnet by 7.5% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,154,011 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $320,453,000 after buying an additional 570,577 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC increased its holdings in Avnet by 33.2% in the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 4,557,200 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $177,184,000 after buying an additional 1,134,700 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Avnet by 102.0% in the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,806,767 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $148,007,000 after buying an additional 1,922,592 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Avnet by 19.2% in the third quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,377,344 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,130,000 after buying an additional 222,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Avnet in the third quarter valued at about $45,908,000. 95.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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About Avnet
Avnet, Inc is a distributor of electronic components, enterprise computer, networking and storage products and software, and embedded subsystems. The Company operates through Electronics Marketing (EM) segment. The EM segment markets and sells semiconductors; interconnect, passive and electromechanical devices (IP&E), and embedded products to a customer base serving various end markets.
