Howmet Aerospace Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:HWM)

Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 4,288 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 60% compared to the average volume of 2,685 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HWM. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $100.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $120.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Howmet Aerospace has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.28.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Howmet Aerospace

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Howmet Aerospace in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Howmet Aerospace by 208.1% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Howmet Aerospace in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Howmet Aerospace in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Howmet Aerospace in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Howmet Aerospace Price Performance

Shares of HWM stock opened at $129.83 on Friday. Howmet Aerospace has a 1 year low of $62.80 and a 1 year high of $140.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $121.18 and its 200-day moving average is $109.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.04, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.03. Howmet Aerospace had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 25.74%. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Howmet Aerospace will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Howmet Aerospace Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This is a positive change from Howmet Aerospace’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Howmet Aerospace’s dividend payout ratio 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.