Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Stock Price

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $39.00 to $42.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avient presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.25.

Avient Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of AVNT opened at $36.80 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $35.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.87. Avient has a 12 month low of $27.86 and a 12 month high of $54.68. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. The company had revenue of $826.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $834.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Avient will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Avient’s payout ratio is currently 59.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVNT. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Avient by 56.2% during the 4th 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. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Avient by 85.8% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Avient by 57.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Avient by 2,450.0% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in Avient during the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.