Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,020,000 shares, a decrease of 9.7% from the May 31st total of 1,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 440,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of AVNT stock traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $42.59. The company had a trading volume of 223,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 454,008. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.90. Avient has a one year low of $27.73 and a one year high of $47.87. The firm has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of 36.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $44.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.41.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.07. Avient had a return on equity of 9.79% and a net margin of 3.37%. The business had revenue of $829.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Avient will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.257 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 21st. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avient

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVNT. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Avient during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Avient by 88.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 811 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Avient by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Avient during the first quarter valued at approximately $133,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avient by 11.2% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AVNT. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Avient from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Avient from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.20.

About Avient

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.