Walnut Level Capital LLC Takes $3.47 Million Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Walnut Level Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 85,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,473,000. Avient comprises about 1.3% of Walnut Level Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Avient by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Avient by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Avient in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Avient in the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Avient by 47.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 1,312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AVNT. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Baird R W upgraded Avient to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on 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 boosted their price objective on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Two investment 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.80.

Avient Price Performance

AVNT opened at $38.43 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.88. Avient Co. has a 52-week low of $37.49 and a 52-week high of $54.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.54.

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

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Avient’s payout ratio is 59.02%.

Avient 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.