Brokerages Set Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Target Price at $48.60

Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $48.25.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AVNT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Avient Stock Up 3.3 %

Avient stock opened at $37.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.42. Avient has a fifty-two week low of $27.86 and a fifty-two week high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $826.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $834.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avient will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.02%.

Institutional Trading of Avient

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVNT. Choreo LLC lifted its position in Avient by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Avient by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Avient by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Avient by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in Avient by 2.5% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 14,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

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.