Brokerages Set Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) PT at $51.80

Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.80.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AVNT shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Baird R W raised Avient to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock.

Institutional Trading of Avient

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in shares of Avient by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,522,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,620,000 after purchasing an additional 63,138 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Avient by 288.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after buying an additional 19,401 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Avient by 22.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 608,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,626,000 after acquiring an additional 111,489 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Avient by 48.5% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,000 after acquiring an additional 10,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Avient by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,243,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,554,000 after acquiring an additional 9,893 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Price Performance

AVNT opened at $38.43 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. Avient has a 12 month low of $37.49 and a 12 month high of $54.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.54.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. On average, research analysts expect that Avient will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s payout ratio is 59.02%.

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.