Short Interest in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) Drops By 16.0%

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) saw a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,477,803 shares, a decline of 16.0% from the November 30th total of 1,759,442 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 407,602 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 3.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 3.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 407,602 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:HII opened at $341.79 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $318.26 and its 200-day moving average is $284.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a 12 month low of $158.88 and a 12 month high of $360.20. The firm has a market cap of $13.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.37.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The aerospace company reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 4.74% and a return on equity of 11.79%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 13.99 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Huntington Ingalls Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.12%.

Insider Activity at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other news, CAO Nicolas G. Schuck sold 466 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.36, for a total transaction of $146,491.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $760,122.48. This represents a 16.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher D. Kastner sold 15,000 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.06, for a total value of $4,815,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 68,139 shares in the company, valued at $21,876,707.34. This represents a 18.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,103 shares of company stock valued at $5,477,768. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 140.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 108 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. SouthState Corp increased its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 310.0% in the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 123 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 400.0% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HII has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $362.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research note on Friday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $316.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research report on Friday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $376.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $325.75.

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.