Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Stock Price

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) had its price objective trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $39.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avient has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.60.

Avient Stock Performance

AVNT stock traded down $3.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.79. 429,281 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 677,401. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $39.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41. Avient has a 52 week low of $27.86 and a 52 week high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Avient will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 130,733.3% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 3,922 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Avient by 5,751.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 52,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,964,000 after buying an additional 51,939 shares in the last quarter. 111 Capital bought a new stake in Avient during the 4th quarter worth about $207,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Avient by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 287,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,745,000 after acquiring an additional 75,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Avient in the fourth quarter worth about $6,388,000. 95.48% of the stock is owned by 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.