Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) Short Interest Up 26.1% in May

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,790,000 shares, a growth of 26.1% from the May 15th total of 1,420,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 645,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 4.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Trading Down 0.1%

Huntington Ingalls Industries stock opened at $233.92 on Friday. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a one year low of $158.88 and a one year high of $285.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $226.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $9.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.29.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The aerospace company reported $3.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.89. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 4.76%. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.87 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s payout ratio is currently 38.90%.

Insider Activity

In other Huntington Ingalls Industries news, Director Anastasi D. Kelly sold 1,960 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.58, for a total transaction of $455,856.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,066,661.30. This trade represents a 10.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 1,965 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.94, for a total transaction of $449,867.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,228 shares in the company, valued at $4,859,938.32. This trade represents a 8.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,225 shares of company stock worth $1,207,207 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 14,940 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,845,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $407,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 77,286 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $14,605,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 5,289 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,781 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on HII. Barclays boosted their target price on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $236.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.38.

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.