Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $384.1250.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. 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. Finally, 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.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:HII opened at $427.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.13. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a 52-week low of $177.42 and a 52-week high of $460.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $419.92 and a 200 day moving average of $345.02.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 13.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.91%.

Insider Transactions at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other news, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.45, for a total transaction of $1,858,780.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 20,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,601,082. This trade represents 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 Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.44, for a total value of $736,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $844,774.56. This represents a 46.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Huntington Ingalls Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 231 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA raised its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 821 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 2,205 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

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.