Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Break Above 50 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT)’s share price crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $41.61 and traded as high as $42.46. Avient shares last traded at $42.4250, with a volume of 657,614 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AVNT. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Avient from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Avient from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Avient from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.38.

Avient Stock Up 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.44. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.18, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.28.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.07. Avient had a return on equity of 11.64% and a net margin of 5.10%. The company had revenue of $917.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $898.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Avient has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.800 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avient Corporation will post 3.20 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a $0.2825 dividend. This is a boost from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.2750. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is 59.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avient

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Avient in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,612,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Avient during the 2nd quarter valued at about $905,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG bought a new stake in shares of Avient during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,597,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avient during the 1st quarter worth about $1,803,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Avient by 214.8% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 42,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,697,000 after buying an additional 28,792 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

About Avient

Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT) is a global provider of specialized and sustainable polymer materials. The company develops, formulates and manufactures engineered materials, colorants, additives and performance-enhancing solutions used to improve the appearance, durability, processing and functionality of plastic products.

Its offerings include specialty polymer formulations, thermoplastic compounds, color and additive concentrates, advanced composites, barrier technologies and recycled or bio-based material solutions.