Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) Short Interest Update

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,284,905 shares, a drop of 14.1% from the January 15th total of 1,495,357 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 535,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 3.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 3.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 535,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE HII opened at $425.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $384.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $322.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a one year low of $167.70 and a one year high of $436.14.

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 the consensus estimate 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.15 EPS. Research analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 35.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In related news, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 787 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.17, for a total value of $247,251.79. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised 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 during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 85.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,085,619 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $369,186,000 after purchasing an additional 498,690 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,646,733 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $560,004,000 after buying an additional 400,428 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the second quarter valued at $93,332,000. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc CT acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the second quarter valued at about $80,047,000. Institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HII shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $421.00 target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $384.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $370.38.

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.