Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $132.53.

Several analysts have recently commented on HWM shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $120.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $118.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. 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 note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Howmet Aerospace news, CEO John C. Plant sold 800,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.96, for a total value of $125,568,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 236,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,127,946.24. This trade represents a 77.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Neil Edward Marchuk sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total transaction of $4,755,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 131,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,903,607.27. The trade was a 18.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 831,250 shares of company stock worth $130,517,863. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Howmet Aerospace

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vista Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Howmet Aerospace during the fourth quarter worth $531,000. Genesis Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Howmet Aerospace during the fourth quarter worth $249,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Howmet Aerospace during the fourth quarter worth $289,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 303.1% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 10,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,199,000 after acquiring an additional 8,241 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 150.5% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 10,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 6,433 shares during the period. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Howmet Aerospace Price Performance

HWM opened at $159.30 on Thursday. Howmet Aerospace has a one year low of $76.83 and a one year high of $161.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.37.

Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.09. Howmet Aerospace had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 25.74%. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. Howmet Aerospace’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Howmet Aerospace will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. Howmet Aerospace’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.03%.

Howmet Aerospace Company Profile

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.