Short Interest in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) Declines By 38.7%

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during 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 company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 776,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Huntington Ingalls Industries

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

Institutional Trading of Huntington Ingalls Industries

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 193.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,442 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,761,000 after acquiring an additional 6,883 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 9.6% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,816 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $83,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 8.0% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,893 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,880,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,180 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HII traded up $2.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $205.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 560,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 483,881. 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 firm has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $188.48 and a 200-day moving average of $208.26. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.15 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The business 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 was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HII has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $188.00 to $145.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.22.

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.