Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Short Interest Up 8.8% in September

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

Avient Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Avient stock traded up $0.34 during trading on Thursday, hitting $51.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 434,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 456,133. The stock has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.47. Avient has a 52 week low of $27.73 and a 52 week high of $51.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $850.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $841.40 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 3.70%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Avient will post 2.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

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

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.