Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Coverage Initiated at Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Avient (NYSE:AVNT) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on AVNT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.80.

Avient Stock Performance

NYSE:AVNT opened at $40.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $41.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.84. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. Avient has a twelve month low of $37.63 and a twelve month high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Avient will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Avient’s payout ratio is 59.02%.

Institutional Trading of Avient

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Avient by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 44.9% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Avient during the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avient in the fourth quarter valued at about $90,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Avient during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. 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.