Stifel Financial Corp Reduces Stock Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Stifel Financial Corp reduced its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,029 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,738 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Avient were worth $2,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AVNT. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 81.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Avient by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Avient by 35.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of Avient in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Avient in the third quarter valued at $60,000. 95.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avient Stock Performance

Avient stock opened at $41.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $49.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.00. Avient Co. has a 12 month low of $35.50 and a 12 month high of $54.68. The company has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.50.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.02. Avient had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 4.66%. The firm had revenue of $815.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $797.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total transaction of $296,454.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVNT has been the topic of several research reports. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.50.

Avient 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.