Wall Street Zen Upgrades Avient (NYSE:AVNT) to “Strong-Buy”

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Avient from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of Avient in a report on Friday, August 7th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Avient from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group set a $44.00 price target on Avient in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $43.00 price target on Avient in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.71.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of AVNT opened at $43.45 on Friday. Avient has a 12 month low of $27.48 and a 12 month high of $46.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.07. Avient had a net margin of 5.10% and a return on equity of 11.64%. The business had revenue of $917.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $898.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Avient has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.800 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Avient will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVNT. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Avient in the 2nd quarter valued at about $437,002,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Avient by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,973,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,546,000 after buying an additional 192,788 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Avient by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,781,000 after buying an additional 410,112 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Avient by 3,490.4% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,878,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,359,000 after buying an additional 3,770,736 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Avient by 2.7% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,012,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,355,000 after buying an additional 78,938 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.