Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Strong-Buy Rating

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

HII has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Melius Research raised 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 report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $384.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.13.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Price Performance

NYSE HII opened at $408.31 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.32. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a 12-month low of $177.42 and a 12-month high of $460.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $421.13 and its 200-day moving average is $346.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Huntington Ingalls Industries news, EVP Eric D. Chewning sold 1,700 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $844,774.56. This represents a 46.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 4,400 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.45, for a total value of $1,858,780.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 20,360 shares in the company, valued at $8,601,082. The trade was a 17.77% 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Korea Investment CORP bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,604,000. Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $2,260,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 51.2% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,746 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,125,000 after buying an additional 8,384 shares during the period. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 76.7% during the 3rd quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 8,120 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,338,000 after buying an additional 3,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 12,560 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,502,000 after buying an additional 2,990 shares in the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.