Comparing Avient (AVNT) & The Competition

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) is one of 295 publicly-traded companies in the “Chemicals” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Avient to similar businesses based on the strength of its profitability, valuation, earnings, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Avient pays an annual dividend of $1.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Avient pays out 56.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Chemicals” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.1% and pay out 103.5% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Avient has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Avient and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Avient	$3.26 billion	$81.90 million	23.77
Avient Competitors	$6.36 billion	$222.31 million	9.99

Avient’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Avient. Avient is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.5% of Avient shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.0% of shares of all “Chemicals” companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Avient shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.9% of shares of all “Chemicals” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Avient and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Avient	0	4	3	0	2.43
Avient Competitors	3250	12222	14142	519	2.40

Avient currently has a consensus target price of $48.75, indicating a potential upside of 5.19%. As a group, “Chemicals” companies have a potential upside of 8.09%. Given Avient’s peers higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Avient has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Profitability

This table compares Avient and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Avient	5.27%	12.17%	4.95%
Avient Competitors	-59.67%	0.26%	-1.43%

Volatility and Risk

Avient has a beta of 1.23, suggesting that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Avient’s peers have a beta of 0.93, suggesting that their average share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Avient beats its peers on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

Avient Company Profile

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. Its products are used in medical and pharmaceutical devices, food packaging, personal care and cosmetics, transportation, building products, wire and cable, recreational and athletic apparel, construction and filtration, outdoor furniture, healthcare, textiles and appliances, and industrial markets. The Specialty Engineered Materials segment provides specialty polymer formulations, services, and solutions for designers, assemblers, and processors of thermoplastic materials. It sells its products through direct sales personnel, distributors, and commissioned sales agents. The company was formerly known as PolyOne Corporation and changed its name to Avient Corporation in June 2020. Avient Corporation was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in Avon Lake, Ohio.