Chesapeake Capital Corp IL Grows Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Chesapeake Capital Corp IL boosted its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 27.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,411 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,053 shares during the quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL’s holdings in Avient were worth $474,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Avient by 5.1% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 53,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581 shares during the period. Cable Hill Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Avient during the third quarter worth approximately $220,000. Versor Investments LP grew its stake in Avient by 180.5% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 17,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $868,000 after buying an additional 11,100 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Avient by 185.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 948 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in Avient by 12.9% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 14,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,000 after buying an additional 1,689 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Avient

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total value of $296,454.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Avient Stock Down 1.0 %

AVNT stock opened at $50.64 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $48.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.27. The firm has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Avient Co. has a 1-year low of $33.64 and a 1-year high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $815.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.50 million. Avient had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AVNT shares. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Avient from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $49.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.50.

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.