Avient (NYSE:AVNT – Get Free Report) and LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB – Get Free Report) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings and valuation.
Dividends
Avient pays an annual dividend of $1.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. LyondellBasell Industries pays an annual dividend of $5.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.5%. Avient pays out 89.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. LyondellBasell Industries pays out -235.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Avient has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and LyondellBasell Industries has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. LyondellBasell Industries is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Profitability
This table compares Avient and LyondellBasell Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Avient | 2.51% | 10.95% | 4.31% |
| LyondellBasell Industries | -2.46% | 4.94% | 1.60% |
Risk and Volatility
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Avient and LyondellBasell Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Avient | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2.43 |
| LyondellBasell Industries | 5 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1.83 |
Avient currently has a consensus target price of $47.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9.87%. LyondellBasell Industries has a consensus target price of $51.00, suggesting a potential downside of 11.37%. Given Avient’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Avient is more favorable than LyondellBasell Industries.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Avient and LyondellBasell Industries”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Avient | $3.26 billion | 1.20 | $169.50 million | $1.23 | 34.78 |
| LyondellBasell Industries | $30.15 billion | 0.61 | -$738.00 million | ($2.33) | -24.70 |
Avient has higher earnings, but lower revenue than LyondellBasell Industries. LyondellBasell Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Avient, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
95.5% of Avient shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.2% of LyondellBasell Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Avient shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of LyondellBasell Industries shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Avient beats LyondellBasell Industries on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
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. Its products are used in medical and pharmaceutical devices, food packaging, personal care and cosmetics, transportation, building products, wire and cable, recreational and athletic apparel, construction and filtration, outdoor furniture, healthcare, textiles and appliances, and industrial markets. The Specialty Engineered Materials segment provides specialty polymer formulations, services, and solutions for designers, assemblers, and processors of thermoplastic materials. It sells its products through direct sales personnel, distributors, and commissioned sales agents. The company was formerly known as PolyOne Corporation and changed its name to Avient Corporation in June 2020. Avient Corporation was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in Avon Lake, Ohio.
About LyondellBasell Industries
LyondellBasell Industries N.V. operates as a chemical company in the United States, Germany, Mexico, Italy, Poland, France, Japan, China, the Netherlands, and internationally. The company operates in six segments: Olefins and PolyolefinsAmericas; Olefins and PolyolefinsEurope, Asia, International; Intermediates and Derivatives; Advanced Polymer Solutions; Refining; and Technology. It produces and markets olefins and co-products, polyethylene, and polypropylene; and propylene oxide and derivatives; oxyfuels and related products; and intermediate chemicals, such as styrene monomer, acetyls, ethylene oxide, and ethylene glycol. In addition, the company produce and markets compounding and solutions including polypropylene compounds, engineered plastics, masterbatches, engineered composites, colors and powders, and advanced polymers including catalloy and polybutene-1; and refines heavy, high-sulfur crude oil and other crude oils, as well as refined products, including gasoline and distillates. Further, it develops and licenses chemical and polyolefin process technologies; manufactures and sells polyolefin catalysts; and serves food packaging, home furnishings, automotive components, and paints and coatings applications. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
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