Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Sunday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Avnet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Avnet from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Avnet to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Avnet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Avnet from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.50.

Avnet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AVT opened at $82.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.09. Avnet has a 1-year low of $44.25 and a 1-year high of $84.75. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $7.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. Avnet had a net margin of 0.86% and a return on equity of 7.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. Avnet has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.700-1.800 EPS. Research analysts expect that Avnet will post 4.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avnet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Avnet’s dividend payout ratio is 54.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Philip R. Gallagher sold 23,920 shares of Avnet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.92, for a total value of $1,983,446.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 145,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,023,648.76. The trade was a 14.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avnet

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Avnet during the fourth quarter valued at $62,393,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avnet by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,961,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,394,000 after acquiring an additional 695,929 shares during the last quarter. Jain Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avnet in the 4th quarter worth about $18,873,000. Loews Corp boosted its stake in shares of Avnet by 258.3% during the 4th quarter. Loews Corp now owns 430,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,674,000 after purchasing an additional 310,000 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avnet by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 654,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,478,000 after purchasing an additional 281,273 shares during the period. 95.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avnet Company Profile

Avnet, Inc (NASDAQ: AVT) is a global technology distributor and solutions provider specializing in the sourcing, design, and supply chain management of electronic components and embedded systems. The company offers a broad portfolio of semiconductors, interconnect, passive and electromechanical components, as well as embedded hardware and software, cloud solutions, and Internet of Things (IoT) services. Avnet’s offerings aim to support customers through every stage of the product lifecycle, from initial prototype and design to production and end-of-life management.

Founded in 1921 by Charles Avnet, the company has evolved from a regional radio parts supplier into a multinational enterprise.