Short Interest in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) Drops By 34.0%

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) saw a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,205,631 shares, a drop of 34.0% from the February 26th total of 1,827,959 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 429,648 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:HII traded down $13.75 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $368.04. The stock had a trading volume of 491,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 516,643. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $417.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $352.58. 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 data on Thursday, February 5th. The aerospace company reported $4.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.28%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 13.99 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were given a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

Insider Transactions at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other news, EVP Eric D. Chewning sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 directly owned 1,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $844,774.56. This represents a 46.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.45, for a total value of $1,858,780.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 20,360 shares in the company, valued at $8,601,082. This trade represents a 17.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 48,606 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $16,543,000 after acquiring an additional 2,435 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 9,219 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,135,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,532 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,283,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group purchased a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HII. TD Cowen boosted their price objective 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $450.00 to $465.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Huntington Ingalls Industries has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.