Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Stock Moved Up to “Strong-Buy” by 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.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AVNT. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of Avient in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Avient from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Avient from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Avient from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Avient from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.88.

Avient Price Performance

NYSE AVNT opened at $45.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.23. Avient has a 52 week low of $27.48 and a 52 week high of $49.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.73.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. Avient had a net margin of 5.27% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The firm had revenue of $891.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $857.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Avient will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a $0.2825 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 2.5%. Avient’s payout ratio is currently 56.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Avient by 51.9% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in Avient by 16,450.0% during the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 1,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,316 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Avient by 145.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Avient during the second quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in Avient during the second quarter worth about $66,000. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Avient

Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT) is a global provider of specialized and sustainable polymer materials. The company develops, formulates and manufactures engineered materials, colorants, additives and performance-enhancing solutions used to improve the appearance, durability, processing and functionality of plastic products.

Its offerings include specialty polymer formulations, thermoplastic compounds, color and additive concentrates, advanced composites, barrier technologies and recycled or bio-based material solutions.