Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment 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. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.38.

Several analysts have commented on AVNT shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Avient from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price target on shares of Avient in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Avient from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Avient Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Avient stock opened at $39.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.58. Avient has a 1 year low of $27.48 and a 1 year high of $46.64.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.07. Avient had a return on equity of 11.64% and a net margin of 5.10%. The business had revenue of $917.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $898.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. Avient’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Avient has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.800 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Avient will post 3.20 EPS for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a $0.2825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.2750. Avient’s payout ratio is presently 59.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVNT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Avient in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $437,002,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised 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 valued at $180,546,000 after purchasing an additional 192,788 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Avient by 2.7% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,012,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,355,000 after purchasing an additional 78,938 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Avient by 96.0% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,411,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,229,000 after purchasing an additional 691,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Avient during the second quarter worth $45,933,000. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Company Profile

Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT) is a global provider of specialized and sustainable polymer materials. The company develops, formulates and manufactures engineered materials, colorants, additives and performance-enhancing solutions used to improve the appearance, durability, processing and functionality of plastic products.

Its offerings include specialty polymer formulations, thermoplastic compounds, color and additive concentrates, advanced composites, barrier technologies and recycled or bio-based material solutions.