Gradient Investments LLC Increases Stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. $HII

Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) by 662.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,806 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 38,928 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries were worth $15,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 40.1% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 206 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,727 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,107,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,569,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 57.5% during the 2nd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 10,528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 3,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 10.5% during the second quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,309 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other Huntington Ingalls Industries news, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 20,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,601,082. The trade was a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric D. Chewning sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.44, for a total value of $736,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $844,774.56. The trade was a 46.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

NYSE HII opened at $408.31 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.42 and a 1 year high of $460.00. The company has a market capitalization of $16.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $421.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $347.57.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The aerospace company reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.32. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 4.85%.The company had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.15 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on HII. Citigroup raised their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $450.00 to $465.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $384.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Melius Research raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.