Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $1.99 Million Stock Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 23.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 48,687 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,401 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Avient were worth $1,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Avient during the 4th quarter valued at $8,344,000. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in Avient by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 12,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in Avient by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 42,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in Avient by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 276,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,310,000 after purchasing an additional 6,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Avient by 120.2% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,460,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,675,000 after purchasing an additional 797,112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Price Performance

Avient stock opened at $37.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. Avient Co. has a 52-week low of $27.86 and a 52-week high of $54.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $35.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.88.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $834.90 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. Avient’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W raised Avient to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avient currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.80.

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.