Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) Short Interest Up 26.1% in May

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,790,000 shares, a growth of 26.1% from the May 15th total of 1,420,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 645,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 4.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $236.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.38.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of HII stock opened at $233.92 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $226.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.07. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a 1 year low of $158.88 and a 1 year high of $285.81.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The aerospace company reported $3.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.89. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 4.76%. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.87 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 13.99 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.90%.

Insider Activity at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In related news, VP Edmond E. Jr. Hughes sold 1,300 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.91, for a total transaction of $301,483.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,221,929.71. The trade was a 11.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 1,965 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.94, for a total transaction of $449,867.10. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,859,938.32. This trade represents a 8.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,225 shares of company stock worth $1,207,207. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 503.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 71.9% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 153 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

About Huntington Ingalls Industries

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.