Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 1,827,959 shares, an increase of 27.7% from the February 12th total of 1,431,218 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 486,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 486,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Insider Activity at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In related news, EVP Eric D. Chewning sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were 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 directly owned 1,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $844,774.56. This trade represents a 46.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 4,400 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 20,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,601,082. This trade represents a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 140.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 108 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 87.2% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 88 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 120.0% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

Huntington Ingalls Industries stock traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $415.15. 372,189 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 433,884. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $416.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $341.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.29 billion, a PE ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.32. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a fifty-two week low of $177.42 and a fifty-two week high of $460.00.

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

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

HII has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $384.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $450.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.13.

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.