Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,500,000 shares, a growth of 31.6% from the January 31st total of 1,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 657,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 3.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HII has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $250.00 to $195.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $188.00 to $145.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Huntington Ingalls Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $221.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas C. Schievelbein acquired 2,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $164.82 per share, with a total value of $349,418.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,313,120.94. This represents a 36.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 503.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Price Performance

Shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $172.57. The stock had a trading volume of 919,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 431,782. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $185.39 and its 200 day moving average is $217.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.57. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a twelve month low of $158.88 and a twelve month high of $299.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.28 by ($0.13). Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 4.77%. Equities analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Company Profile

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc designs, builds, overhauls, and repairs military ships in the United States. It operates through three segments: Ingalls, Newport News, and Mission Technologies. The company is involved in the design and construction of non-nuclear ships comprising amphibious assault ships; expeditionary warfare ships; surface combatants; and national security cutters for the U.S.