Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 1,827,959 shares, an increase of 27.7% from the February 12th total of 1,431,218 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 486,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently, 4.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 4.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 486,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Up 0.1%

Huntington Ingalls Industries stock traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $415.15. 372,189 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 433,884. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $16.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.05, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $416.32 and a 200 day moving average of $341.90. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a 12-month low of $177.42 and a 12-month high of $460.00.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The aerospace company reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 4.85%.The business’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.15 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s payout ratio is 35.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Huntington Ingalls Industries news, EVP Eric D. Chewning sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.44, for a total transaction of $736,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,949 shares in the company, valued at $844,774.56. This trade represents a 46.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 4,400 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.45, for a total transaction of $1,858,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 20,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,601,082. The trade was a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HII. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 38,526.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,986,567 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $675,572,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,424 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,646,733 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $560,004,000 after buying an additional 400,428 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,116,501 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $379,098,000 after buying an additional 56,618 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 85.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,085,619 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $369,186,000 after buying an additional 498,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 978,365 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $332,717,000 after acquiring an additional 11,743 shares in the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HII. Bank of America upgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $384.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $450.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Huntington Ingalls Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.13.

About Huntington Ingalls Industries

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) is America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a leading provider of professional services to the U.S. government. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII designs, constructs and maintains nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, submarines and other complex vessels for the U.S. Navy. The company’s products include nuclear aircraft carriers, Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines, as well as amphibious assault ships, destroyers and cutters.

Established in 2011 as a spin-off from Northrop Grumman’s shipbuilding operations, HII traces its heritage to two historic builders: Newport News Shipbuilding, founded in the 19th century, and Ingalls Shipbuilding, founded in 1938.