Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. $HII

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 147,323 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 8,420 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries were worth $55,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 40,031 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $13,613,000 after acquiring an additional 26,940 shares in the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,634,000. Builder Investment Group Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $6,815,000. Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 662.3% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 44,806 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $15,237,000 after purchasing an additional 38,928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 71.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 365,760 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $124,384,000 after purchasing an additional 152,624 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HII has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $405.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $420.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Huntington Ingalls Industries in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $374.00.

Insider Activity at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other news, VP Edmond E. Jr. Hughes sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.58, for a total transaction of $1,118,530.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,681,595.78. This represents a 29.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Price Performance

Shares of HII opened at $269.33 on Friday. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $250.91 and a twelve month high of $460.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $298.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $363.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 4.71%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.79 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 17.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.91%.

Huntington Ingalls Industries 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.