Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Price Target Lowered to $39.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) had its price objective decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $39.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on AVNT. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W upgraded Avient to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.60.

Avient Price Performance

NYSE AVNT traded down $3.10 on Wednesday, reaching $29.79. 429,281 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 677,401. Avient has a 12 month low of $27.86 and a 12 month high of $54.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.31. The company has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. As a group, research analysts predict that Avient will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is 59.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Choreo LLC grew its stake in Avient by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Avient by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Avient by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Avient by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Avient by 44.9% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.