Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Avient (NYSE:AVNT) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Avient’s Q1 2026 earnings at $0.88 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.95 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.81 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $0.67 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

Avient Price Performance

AVNT stock opened at $44.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.34. Avient has a 52-week low of $37.63 and a 52-week high of $54.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.16, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.51.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its 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 net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. Equities research analysts forecast that Avient will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.02%.

Institutional Trading of Avient

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVNT. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Avient by 21.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Avient by 35.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 35,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,789,000 after buying an additional 9,378 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Avient by 2.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 50,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Avient by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Avient during the third quarter worth $217,000. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.