Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $374.00.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HII. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $405.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $420.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:HII opened at $268.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.25. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a twelve month low of $250.91 and a twelve month high of $460.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company’s 50 day moving average is $295.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $362.90.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 4.71% and a return on equity of 12.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.79 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 17.31 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Huntington Ingalls Industries news, VP Edmond E. Jr. Hughes sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.58, for a total transaction of $1,118,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,681,595.78. This trade represents a 29.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Huntington Ingalls Industries

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HII. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 38,526.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,986,567 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $675,572,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,424 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,646,733 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $560,004,000 after purchasing an additional 400,428 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,116,501 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $379,098,000 after purchasing an additional 56,618 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 85.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,085,619 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $369,186,000 after purchasing an additional 498,690 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 978,365 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $332,717,000 after buying an additional 11,743 shares during the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Company Profile

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.