River Road Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 345,109 Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)

River Road Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 345,109 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,215,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock opened at $197.34 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $185.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.49. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.88 and a 1-year high of $294.81.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on HII. Barclays decreased their target price on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $188.00 to $145.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $250.00 to $195.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Huntington Ingalls Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.22.

Insider Transactions at Huntington Ingalls Industries

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

About Huntington Ingalls Industries

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.