Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Rating Increased to Hold at Baird R W

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) was upgraded by stock analysts at Baird R W to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on AVNT. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Avient in a report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.80.

Avient Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of Avient stock opened at $40.33 on Friday. Avient has a 1 year low of $37.63 and a 1 year high of $54.68. The firm has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.93 and a 200 day moving average of $45.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avient

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Avient in the 4th quarter worth $50,548,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 200.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,321,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,012,000 after acquiring an additional 882,234 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 120.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,460,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,675,000 after acquiring an additional 797,112 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Avient by 250.5% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 532,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,762,000 after acquiring an additional 380,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Avient by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,185,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,180,000 after purchasing an additional 276,357 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.