Barclays upgraded shares of Avient (NYSE:AVNT – Free Report) to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks reports.
Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on AVNT. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avient from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Avient in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Avient from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Avient from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Avient from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.38.
Avient Trading Down 1.9%
Avient (NYSE:AVNT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $917.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $898.53 million. Avient had a return on equity of 11.64% and a net margin of 5.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. Avient has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.800 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avient will post 3.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Avient Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.2825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.2750. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Avient’s payout ratio is currently 59.46%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient
Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avient during the second quarter valued at $437,002,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Avient by 4.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,973,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,546,000 after purchasing an additional 192,788 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Avient by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,012,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,355,000 after buying an additional 78,938 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Avient by 96.0% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,411,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,229,000 after buying an additional 691,316 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Avient during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,933,000. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.
About Avient
Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT) is a global materials company that develops and manufactures specialized polymer products and solutions. Its portfolio includes engineered materials, specialty formulations, colorants, additives, inks, and other technologies designed to improve the performance, appearance, sustainability, and processing of plastics and other materials.
The company serves customers across a range of industries, including packaging, transportation, healthcare, consumer products, electronics, building and construction, and energy.
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