Short Interest in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) Grows By 5.5%

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) saw a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 928,900 shares, an increase of 5.5% from the November 30th total of 880,600 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 539,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Insider Transactions at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In related news, VP D R. Wyatt sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.24, for a total value of $82,096.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,028,245.48. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Huntington Ingalls Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HII. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 45.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 305,947 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $80,886,000 after buying an additional 95,324 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 7.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 139,248 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $36,812,000 after acquiring an additional 9,634 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 17.8% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the third quarter valued at $153,000. Finally, Fulcrum Equity Management raised its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 2,114 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Price Performance

Huntington Ingalls Industries stock opened at $187.61 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $198.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.84. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a 12 month low of $184.29 and a 12 month high of $299.50. The company has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The aerospace company reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.84 by ($1.28). Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.70 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 14.01 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This is a positive change from Huntington Ingalls Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on HII. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $250.00 to $195.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $290.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen downgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors lowered Huntington Ingalls Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.89.

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.