Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $168.94 and last traded at $168.74, with a volume of 572483 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $165.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HWM. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Howmet Aerospace in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $118.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.53.

Howmet Aerospace Trading Up 2.8%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $139.29 and its 200-day moving average is $127.56. The firm has a market cap of $68.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 2.17.

Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Howmet Aerospace had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 25.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. Analysts predict that Howmet Aerospace Inc. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Howmet Aerospace Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Howmet Aerospace’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Howmet Aerospace

In related news, VP Barbara Lou Shultz sold 1,250 shares of Howmet Aerospace stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.17, for a total value of $193,962.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 23,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,575,737.48. This trade represents a 5.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Neil Edward Marchuk sold 30,000 shares of Howmet Aerospace stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total transaction of $4,755,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 131,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,903,607.27. The trade was a 18.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 831,250 shares of company stock valued at $130,517,863. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Howmet Aerospace

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Howmet Aerospace by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,813,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,202,814,000 after acquiring an additional 695,953 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Howmet Aerospace by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 24,450,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,171,970,000 after acquiring an additional 4,252,401 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Howmet Aerospace by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,213,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,445,210,000 after acquiring an additional 80,972 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Howmet Aerospace by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,947,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,197,315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,810,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,070,267,000 after purchasing an additional 308,574 shares during the period. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Howmet Aerospace

Howmet Aerospace Inc provides advanced engineered solutions for the aerospace and transportation industries in the United States, Japan, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Italy, Canada, Poland, China, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Engine Products, Fastening Systems, Engineered Structures, and Forged Wheels.