Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.50.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th.

Avient Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Avient stock opened at $42.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.56. Avient has a 12-month low of $35.58 and a 12-month high of $54.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced 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 net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $815.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avient will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total value of $296,454.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Avient by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Avient by 35.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in Avient by 21.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Avient by 81.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 663 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Avient by 44.9% in the 3rd 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. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.