Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avient (NYSE:AVNT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Avient from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Avient from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Avient from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 target price on Avient in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Avient in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.00.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of AVNT stock opened at $42.13 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.90 and a 200-day moving average of $33.94. The company has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Avient has a 52 week low of $27.48 and a 52 week high of $44.85.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $760.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $750.19 million. Avient had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 10.95%. Avient’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. Avient has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.810-0.810 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.930-3.170 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Avient will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 123.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,218,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,223,000 after purchasing an additional 77,246 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Avient by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,781,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,363,000 after purchasing an additional 27,251 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Avient by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,781,000 after buying an additional 410,112 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Avient by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,283,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,341,000 after buying an additional 11,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 2,102,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,697,000 after buying an additional 7,161 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Avient

Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT) is a global provider of specialized and sustainable polymer materials, delivering color, additive and engineered solutions to a wide range of industries. The company’s core offerings include masterbatches, colorant systems, compounds and resins designed to enhance performance, aesthetics and environmental sustainability. Avient serves markets such as packaging, automotive, consumer goods, healthcare, electronics, and agriculture, tailoring products to meet stringent regulatory and end-use requirements.

Formed through a corporate rebranding in 2020 following the divestiture of PolyOne’s specialty businesses, Avient traces its heritage to a legacy of polymer innovation spanning decades.