Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $356.45, but opened at $380.00. Huntington Ingalls Industries shares last traded at $384.9990, with a volume of 295,243 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HII has been the subject of several research reports. Melius raised shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup began coverage on Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research note on Friday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $376.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $362.00 target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research report on Friday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $287.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $325.75.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Trading Up 2.4%

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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $327.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $290.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.36.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The aerospace company reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This is a boost from Huntington Ingalls Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Edmond E. Jr. Hughes sold 850 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.44, for a total transaction of $268,124.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 8,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 787 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.17, for a total transaction of $247,251.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 20,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,421,948.97. This trade represents a 3.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 17,103 shares of company stock valued at $5,477,768 over the last ninety days. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,047,205 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $252,403,000 after buying an additional 16,236 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 5.9% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 966,622 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $278,272,000 after purchasing an additional 54,139 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 0.7% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 901,140 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $259,447,000 after purchasing an additional 6,046 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 12.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 670,268 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $192,977,000 after purchasing an additional 76,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 666,440 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $160,919,000 after purchasing an additional 25,737 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

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.