Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $168.94 and last traded at $168.74, with a volume of 572483 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $165.09.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $120.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Howmet Aerospace in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $118.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Howmet Aerospace currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $132.53.

Howmet Aerospace Trading Down 0.1%

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 stock has a market capitalization of $68.62 billion, a PE ratio of 60.28, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $142.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.92.

Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. Howmet Aerospace had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 25.74%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Howmet Aerospace Inc. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Howmet Aerospace Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Howmet Aerospace's payout ratio is currently 13.03%.

Insider Activity at Howmet Aerospace

In other Howmet Aerospace news, VP Barbara Lou Shultz sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 23,044 shares in the company, valued at $3,575,737.48. This represents a 5.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Neil Edward Marchuk sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 131,859 shares in the company, valued at $20,903,607.27. This represents a 18.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 831,250 shares of company stock worth $130,517,863. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Howmet Aerospace

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HWM. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Howmet Aerospace during the 1st quarter valued at $32,547,000. WBI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Howmet Aerospace in the 1st quarter worth $786,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Howmet Aerospace in the 1st quarter worth $399,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Howmet Aerospace by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 12,079 shares of the company's stock worth $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Howmet Aerospace in the 1st quarter worth $217,000. Institutional investors own 90.46% of the company's stock.

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.