Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $25.66 Million Stock Position in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 135,777 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,471 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries were worth $25,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,099 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,612,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 57,083 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $15,092,000 after buying an additional 5,631 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,773,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,416 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,845 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $752,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Down 4.2 %

HII stock opened at $170.44 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $188.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.20. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.88 and a fifty-two week high of $299.50.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 4.77%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas C. Schievelbein purchased 2,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $164.82 per share, for a total transaction of $349,418.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,313,120.94. This trade represents a 36.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on HII. Bank of America cut their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $250.00 to $195.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com cut Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Alembic Global Advisors cut Huntington Ingalls Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays dropped their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $188.00 to $145.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.22.

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.