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Are You Looking for a High-Growth Dividend Stock? Avient (AVNT) Could Be a Great Choice

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Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. But for income investors, generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments is your primary focus.

Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, dividends. A dividend is that coveted distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders, and investors often view it by its dividend yield, a metric that measures the dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.

Avient in Focus

Avient (AVNT - Free Report) is headquartered in Avon Lake, and is in the Basic Materials sector. The stock has seen a price change of 4.94% since the start of the year. The maker of resins used in plastic pipe and other products is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.21 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.01%. This compares to the Chemical - Diversified industry's yield of 1.34% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.41%.

Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $0.85 is up 3.7% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Avient has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 14.18%. Any future dividend growth will depend on both earnings growth and the company's payout ratio; a payout ratio is the proportion of a firm's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Right now, Avient's payout ratio is 52%, which means it paid out 52% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Looking at this fiscal year, AVNT expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 is $2.24 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 29.48%.

Bottom Line

Investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. However, not all companies offer a quarterly payout.

For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers their shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. Income investors have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, AVNT presents a compelling investment opportunity; it's not only an attractive dividend play, but the stock also boasts a strong Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).


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