Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $27.75 and last traded at $28.0550, with a volume of 63232 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AVNT. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Avient in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research lowered Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Avient from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. KeyCorp started coverage on Avient in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Avient in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avient currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.50.

Avient Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.48.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. Avient had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 3.65%.The firm had revenue of $806.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $823.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Avient has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.770-2.870 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This is an increase from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avient

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AVNT. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Avient by 1.8% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 23,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $876,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Avient by 45.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Avient during the 1st quarter worth approximately $278,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Avient in the first quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Finally, Homestead Advisers Corp increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 15.1% in the first quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp now owns 184,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,864,000 after purchasing an additional 24,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

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.