Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Reaches New 1-Year High at $44.14

Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $44.14 and last traded at $44.07, with a volume of 228878 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVNT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Avient from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th.

Avient Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.75 and a 200 day moving average of $38.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 52.89, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.53.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $719.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $711.87 million. Avient had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 2.41%. Avient’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were given a dividend of $0.257 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 18th. Avient’s payout ratio is 124.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Avient during the 4th quarter worth about $40,628,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in Avient by 17,378.2% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 482,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,053,000 after buying an additional 479,639 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Avient by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,438,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,937,000 after purchasing an additional 384,452 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Avient by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,724,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,821,000 after purchasing an additional 381,610 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,201,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,947,000 after acquiring an additional 252,191 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.