Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. Avient had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 2.41%. The business had revenue of $829.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.45 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. Avient’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Avient updated its Q2 guidance to $0.71 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $2.50-2.65 EPS.

Avient Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of AVNT stock traded down $1.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $45.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 137,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 462,022. The company has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 54.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.53. Avient has a 52 week low of $27.73 and a 52 week high of $47.87.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 19th were paid a dividend of $0.257 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 18th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 124.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on AVNT shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Avient from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Avient from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.20.

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.