Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,550,000 shares, a decline of 38.7% from the February 28th total of 2,530,000 shares. Currently, 4.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 776,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE HII traded down $0.93 during trading on Monday, reaching $204.39. The company had a trading volume of 666,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 484,610. The stock has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $188.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a 12 month low of $158.88 and a 12 month high of $291.97.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by ($0.13). Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 12.81%. As a group, research analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HII shares. Barclays cut their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $188.00 to $145.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Huntington Ingalls Industries has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $221.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Nicolas G. Schuck sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.56, for a total transaction of $142,170.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $546,691.04. This trade represents a 20.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas C. Schievelbein acquired 2,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.82 per share, with a total value of $349,418.40. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,313,120.94. This represents a 36.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Huntington Ingalls Industries

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 503.8% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 43.4% in the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

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.