Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Citigroup upgraded the stock to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $330.45 and last traded at $327.8930, with a volume of 212817 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $323.14.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on HII. Wall Street Zen upgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 29th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $180.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $287.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Huntington Ingalls Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $325.75.

Insider Transactions at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In related news, VP Edmond E. Jr. Hughes sold 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.44, for a total value of $268,124.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 8,731 shares in the company, valued at $2,754,106.64. This trade represents a 8.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Nicolas G. Schuck sold 466 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.36, for a total value of $146,491.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $760,122.48. The trade was a 16.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,103 shares of company stock worth $5,477,768. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 1st quarter worth about $219,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $17,011,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 112.2% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,442 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,131,000 after buying an additional 5,522 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 39.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 125,455 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,598,000 after buying an additional 35,336 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 58.5% during the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 7,668 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,565,000 after buying an additional 2,831 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Up 0.1%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $304.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.79. The stock has a market cap of $12.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The aerospace company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.39. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 4.74% and a return on equity of 11.79%. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This is a positive change from Huntington Ingalls Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s payout ratio is presently 38.12%.

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.