Short Interest in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Declines By 10.3%

Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,050,000 shares, a decline of 10.3% from the March 15th total of 1,170,000 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 422,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Avient Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE AVNT traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.78. 942,752 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 380,754. Avient has a 1 year low of $27.73 and a 1 year high of $43.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.68 and a 200 day moving average of $37.48. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. Avient had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 2.41%. The company had revenue of $719.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $711.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Avient will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were issued a $0.257 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 18th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 124.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avient

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 139.5% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 248.2% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the period. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in shares of Avient during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 123.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th.

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.