Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Up 4.1% – Still a Buy?

Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT)’s share price traded up 4.1% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $39.47 and last traded at $39.3460. 181,595 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 815,841 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVNT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Avient from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Avient from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Avient in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Avient from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avient has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.71.

Avient Trading Up 3.9%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.44. The company has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.07. Avient had a net margin of 5.10% and a return on equity of 11.64%. The business had revenue of $917.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $898.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. Avient’s revenue 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, analysts expect that Avient Corporation will post 3.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.2825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.2750. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Avient’s payout ratio is 61.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Avient by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Avient by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 22,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $799,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 51.9% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $682,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

About Avient

Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT) is a global materials company that develops and manufactures specialized polymer products and solutions. Its portfolio includes engineered materials, specialty formulations, colorants, additives, inks, and other technologies designed to improve the performance, appearance, sustainability, and processing of plastics and other materials.

The company serves customers across a range of industries, including packaging, transportation, healthcare, consumer products, electronics, building and construction, and energy.