Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings raised Avient from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of Avient in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Avient from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays increased their price target on Avient from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avient presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.88.

Avient Trading Up 0.2%

AVNT opened at $45.54 on Friday. Avient has a twelve month low of $27.48 and a twelve month high of $49.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.59 and a 200-day moving average of $38.73. The stock has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $891.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $857.49 million. Avient had a net margin of 5.27% and a return on equity of 12.17%. Avient’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Avient will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Abel Hall LLC lifted its position in Avient by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 12,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Avient by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Avient by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in Avient by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 22,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Avient by 51.9% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Company Profile

Avient Corporation is a global provider of specialty polymer materials, services and solutions. Its offerings include colorants, additives, specialty engineered compounds and other materials designed to enhance the performance, appearance or processing of plastics and other polymers. The company serves customers across industries such as packaging, healthcare, transportation, consumer products and construction.

Avient’s products include color and additive concentrates, specialty thermoplastic compounds, and high-performance materials, including advanced fibers and composites.