Arconic has handed investors a 48% gain since the November 1, 2016, spin-off of its bulk aluminum business (Alcoa Corp). At the time, each investor was gifted with one Alcoa share for every three Arconic shares they owned.

While Alcoa is down 32% since the split, both firms continue to cut costs and focus on their growth. That will inevitably lift their earnings as well as returns for investors.

ARCONIC INC., $28, is still a buy. After the breakup, the company (New York symbol ARNC; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 440.2 million; Market cap: $12.3 billion; Dividend yield: 0.3%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.arconic.com) now focuses on engineered aluminum products for cars, buildings and jet engines.

In February 2019, Arconic announced plans to reorganize into two businesses: Engineered Products & Forgings, and Global Rolled Products. Arconic will then spin off one of the two divisions.

The company expects the separation will cost it between $100 million and $200 million. However, to offset that, Arconic expects to sell up to $200 million of its smaller operations.

As part of that plan, it has now agreed to sell its U.K. forging businesses for $62 million. However, it will book a $40 million to $50 million charge on the sale. It expects to complete the deal by the end of 2019.

In addition to asset sales, the company has also launched a new restructuring plan that should cut Arconic’s annual costs by $260 million. That’s up from the company’s initial estimate of $230 million. It expects to realize $140 million of those savings in 2019.

If you disregard all unusual items, Arconic earned $269 million in the second quarter of 2019. That’s up a whopping 45.4% from $185 million a year earlier. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share jumped 56.8%, to $0.58 from $0.37. Revenue in the quarter rose 3.3%, to $3.69 billion from $3.57 billion.

Savings from the restructuring will help Arconic pay down its long-term debt of $5.9 billion (as of June 30, 2019.) That’s a high 48% of its market cap. It also held cash of $1.36 billion.

The company now plans to buy back $200 million worth of its shares by the end of 2019. That has helped investors to a 33% gain in the past six months. The stock now trades at a low 13.7 times the $2.04 a share that Arconic should earn in 2019. The $0.08 dividend yields 0.3%. That too should rise.

ALCOA CORP. $20 is also a buy. The company (New York symbol AA; Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 185.6 million; Market cap: $3.7 billion; No dividend paid; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.alcoa.com) s the world’s largest producer of bauxite ore and also operates refineries converting bauxite to bulk aluminum products.

Alcoa continues to close its older, less-efficient smelters. Excluding plant closure costs and other unusual items, it lost $0.44 a share (or a total of $82 million) in the quarter ended September 30, 2019. That’s a big drop from year-earlier earnings of $0.82 a share (or $154 million). Sales fell 24.3%, to $2.57 billion from $3.39 billion, on lower selling prices.

The company ended the quarter with $841 million cash; its $1.8 billion in long-term debt is 49% of its market cap.

Alcoa expects its restructuring will cut its annual costs by $60 million, starting in mid-2020. It also plans to sell up to $1 billion of its less-important assets to focus on its higher-profit offerings. That should boost investor returns.