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

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) saw a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,550,000 shares, a decline of 38.7% from the February 28th total of 2,530,000 shares. Currently, 4.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 776,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HII has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $188.00 to $145.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $221.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other news, CAO Nicolas G. Schuck sold 750 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.56, for a total value of $142,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,691.04. The trade was a 20.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas C. Schievelbein purchased 2,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $164.82 per share, for a total transaction of $349,418.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,967 shares in the company, valued at $1,313,120.94. The trade was a 36.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HII. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1,648.4% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 375,872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $71,029,000 after buying an additional 354,374 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $65,215,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 132.9% in the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 420,102 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $79,387,000 after acquiring an additional 239,688 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 4,900.7% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 210,480 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $39,774,000 after purchasing an additional 206,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 831,965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $157,216,000 after purchasing an additional 204,376 shares during the period. 90.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of HII traded down $0.93 on Monday, hitting $204.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 666,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 484,610. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $188.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.26. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a fifty-two week low of $158.88 and a fifty-two week high of $291.97.

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

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.68%.

About Huntington Ingalls Industries

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.