Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $42.50.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Avient in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Avient in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Avient in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Avient from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avient

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Avient by 75.9% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Avient by 18.3% during the second quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 2,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 1.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 27,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, F m Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Avient by 0.4% in the second quarter. F m Investments LLC now owns 93,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,006,000 after buying an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVNT opened at $31.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $30.69 and a 200 day moving average of $33.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.46. Avient has a 12-month low of $27.48 and a 12-month high of $44.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $806.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $823.57 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.75% and a net margin of 3.49%.Avient’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Avient has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.770-2.870 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avient will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a boost from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is 89.43%.

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.