Pandemic dampens their prospects

Article Excerpt

On April 1, 2020, the old Arconic Inc. split into two new companies: Howmet and Arconic Corp. As a result, each Arconic Inc. share automatically converted to one share of Howmet; investors also received one share of Arconic Corp. for every four shares of Arconic Inc. they held. This breakup is already paying off—Howmet is up 91% since the split, while Arconic has soared 323%. For now, however, we advise against further buying right now as new variants of COVID-19 could disrupt their supply chains. HOWMET AEROSPACE INC. $34 is a hold. The company (New York symbol HWM; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 434.3 million; Market cap: $14.8 billion; No dividend paid; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.howmet.com) makes a variety of industrial parts, from jet engine components and fasteners to forged aluminum wheels. In the quarter ended March 31, 2021, revenue fell 26.0%, to $1.21 billion from $1.63 billion a year earlier. The decline is mainly due to weaker demand from commercial…