Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $413.14, but opened at $354.61. Huntington Ingalls Industries shares last traded at $373.1740, with a volume of 488,065 shares.

Huntington Ingalls Industries News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Huntington Ingalls Industries this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings and revenue beat consensus — HII reported $4.04 EPS (vs. ~3.75 consensus) and $3.48B revenue, up ~15.7% year-over-year, topping estimates which supports near-term cash flow and margins. Huntington Ingalls (HII) Q4 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Company press release & materials confirm broad segment growth and provided investor materials (slide deck, call) that validated the beat and revenue detail. HII Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Newport News completed builder’s sea trials for the John F. Kennedy (CVN‑79), de‑risking a high‑profile program milestone and supporting future cash conversion/timing. John F. Kennedy Sea Trials
• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a $1.38 quarterly dividend (payable Mar 13), showing capital return discipline — modest yield but supports shareholder income thesis. Dividend and Sea Trials Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: FY‑2026 revenue guidance was reiterated/updated to roughly $12.7B–$13.1B (text in filings was unclear on EPS range); revenue band is roughly in line with consensus but lacks clarity on margin/earnings detail — this ambiguity can temper enthusiasm. (Company guidance entry)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and previews (Zacks pieces) provided detailed metric comparisons and sector context — useful for modeling but not disruptive by themselves. Key Metrics vs Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate engagement with USMC leadership at Ingalls highlights program relationships and backlog visibility but is a longer‑term positive. HII Hosts U.S. Marine Corps Leaders
• Negative Sentiment: Market skepticism about whether HII can sustain the post‑beat surge — commentary questions durability of margin expansion and backlog cadence; profit‑taking after a strong run may be driving the stock lower today. Can shipbuilder sustain surge?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HII has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $376.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Melius Research raised shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $384.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $343.63.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $366.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $312.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.43 billion, a PE ratio of 25.33, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.34.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The aerospace company reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.75 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 4.74% and a return on equity of 11.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s payout ratio is currently 38.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Huntington Ingalls Industries news, CEO Christopher D. Kastner sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.06, for a total value of $4,815,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 68,139 shares in the company, valued at $21,876,707.34. The trade was a 18.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 787 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.17, for a total transaction of $247,251.79. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 20,441 shares in the company, valued at $6,421,948.97. This trade represents a 3.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,637 shares of company stock worth $5,331,276. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HII. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 509.2% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 586,929 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $168,983,000 after buying an additional 490,587 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the second quarter worth $93,332,000. Sound Shore Management Inc CT purchased a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the second quarter valued at $80,047,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 3,576.2% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 195,759 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $47,268,000 after purchasing an additional 190,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunriver Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the second quarter worth approximately $31,532,000. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Company Profile

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.