Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,070,000 shares, a drop of 8.8% from the June 30th total of 11,040,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,980,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on HWM. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Howmet Aerospace in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Northcoast Research reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Howmet Aerospace in a report on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Howmet Aerospace from $83.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Howmet Aerospace from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Howmet Aerospace

In related news, EVP Neil Edward Marchuk sold 32,614 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.26, for a total transaction of $2,748,055.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 217,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,342,306.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Howmet Aerospace

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 579.8% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 592,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,993,000 after buying an additional 505,306 shares during the period. Retireful LLC bought a new stake in Howmet Aerospace in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,934,000. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its position in Howmet Aerospace by 3,333.3% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 10,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $800,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 41.4% during the 2nd quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 204,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,882,000 after acquiring an additional 59,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Howmet Aerospace in the second quarter worth $277,000. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Howmet Aerospace Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE HWM traded down $0.83 during trading on Thursday, reaching $94.87. 2,984,073 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,241,162. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $81.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $38.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.45. Howmet Aerospace has a fifty-two week low of $42.94 and a fifty-two week high of $97.29.

Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Howmet Aerospace had a net margin of 13.15% and a return on equity of 23.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. Analysts predict that Howmet Aerospace will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Howmet Aerospace Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 26th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This is a positive change from Howmet Aerospace’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Howmet Aerospace’s payout ratio is currently 9.66%.

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.