Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Short Interest Down 10.3% in March

Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,050,000 shares, a drop of 10.3% from the March 15th total of 1,170,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 422,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Avient Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:AVNT traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $42.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 794,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,320. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.53. Avient has a one year low of $27.73 and a one year high of $43.97. The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.68 and its 200-day moving average is $37.48.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $719.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $711.87 million. Avient had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 2.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Avient will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were issued a dividend of $0.257 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 124.10%.

Institutional Trading of Avient

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVNT. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Avient by 139.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Avient by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Avient by 248.2% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in Avient during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Avient by 123.1% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th.

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.