Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,110,000 shares, a growth of 8.8% from the September 15th total of 1,020,000 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 462,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Avient Trading Up 0.7 %

AVNT traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $51.28. 434,143 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 456,133. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.30, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.47. Avient has a one year low of $27.73 and a one year high of $51.51. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. Avient had a net margin of 3.70% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The business had revenue of $850.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $841.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. Avient’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Avient will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. This is a boost from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVNT. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Avient by 2.1% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 12,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Avient by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Avient by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Avient by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 81.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on AVNT. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Avient from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday.

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.