Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $27.75 and last traded at $28.0550, with a volume of 63232 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AVNT. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Avient in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Avient in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Avient in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research lowered shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Avient from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.50.

Avient Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $32.49 and a 200-day moving average of $34.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.48.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $806.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $823.57 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 3.65%.Avient’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Avient has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.770-2.870 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Avient by 75.9% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Avient by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 967 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Avient by 18.3% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 27,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, F m Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. F m Investments LLC now owns 93,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,006,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.