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

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 969,900 shares, a growth of 71.0% from the September 15th total of 567,100 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 319,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Price Performance

Shares of HII traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $259.90. The stock had a trading volume of 30,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 307,415. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a 12 month low of $212.58 and a 12 month high of $299.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day moving average is $265.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $262.32.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The aerospace company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 16.56 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s payout ratio is 29.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. American National Bank bought a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. 90.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HII has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $280.00 to $285.00 in a report on Monday, September 9th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $290.00.

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.