Chase Investment Counsel Corp Cuts Position in Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM)

Chase Investment Counsel Corp lessened its stake in Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,378 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,466 shares during the quarter. Howmet Aerospace accounts for 1.8% of Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s holdings in Howmet Aerospace were worth $5,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 263,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,450,000 after purchasing an additional 28,568 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Howmet Aerospace in the 4th quarter valued at about $531,000. Genesis Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Howmet Aerospace in the 4th quarter valued at about $249,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 135.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 26,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,622,000 after purchasing an additional 15,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Howmet Aerospace in the 4th quarter valued at about $289,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HWM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $103.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $113.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Howmet Aerospace currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.28.

Howmet Aerospace Price Performance

HWM opened at $136.73 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $123.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.03. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.80 and a 1 year high of $140.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.38 billion, a PE ratio of 48.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.50.

Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.03. Howmet Aerospace had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 25.74%. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Howmet Aerospace Inc. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Howmet Aerospace Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from Howmet Aerospace’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Howmet Aerospace’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.18%.

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.