Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $32.84 and last traded at $33.17, with a volume of 834164 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AVNT. 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 upped their target price 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. Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.80.

Avient Trading Down 14.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.12.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. On average, analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Avient by 288.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 19,401 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Avient by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 608,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,626,000 after acquiring an additional 111,489 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Avient by 48.5% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,000 after purchasing an additional 10,088 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Avient by 112.4% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 151,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,646,000 after acquiring an additional 80,414 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Avient by 3.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,231,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,977,000 after purchasing an additional 121,349 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

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.