Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avient (NYSE:AVNT) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Avient from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Avient from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $43.00 price target on shares of Avient in a research report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group set a $44.00 price target on shares of Avient in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Avient from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Avient currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.71.

Avient Stock Up 1.3%

AVNT opened at $43.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Avient has a 52 week low of $27.48 and a 52 week high of $46.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.94.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.07. Avient had a return on equity of 11.64% and a net margin of 5.10%.The business had revenue of $917.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $898.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Avient has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.800 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Avient will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Avient’s payout ratio is 59.46%.

Institutional Trading of Avient

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in shares of Avient in the second quarter worth approximately $375,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Avient during the 2nd quarter valued at $905,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Avient by 3,490.4% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,878,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,359,000 after buying an additional 3,770,736 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Avient by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Avient in the second quarter valued at about $61,000. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Company Profile

Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT) is a global provider of specialized and sustainable polymer materials, delivering color, additive and engineered solutions to a wide range of industries. The company’s core offerings include masterbatches, colorant systems, compounds and resins designed to enhance performance, aesthetics and environmental sustainability. Avient serves markets such as packaging, automotive, consumer goods, healthcare, electronics, and agriculture, tailoring products to meet stringent regulatory and end-use requirements.

Formed through a corporate rebranding in 2020 following the divestiture of PolyOne’s specialty businesses, Avient traces its heritage to a legacy of polymer innovation spanning decades.