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

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in 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. Approximately 4.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 776,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:HII traded up $2.07 during trading hours 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $188.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.61. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a 52 week low of $158.88 and a 52 week high of $291.97. The company has a market capitalization 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by ($0.13). Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 4.77%. As a group, research analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 13.99 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders 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 presently 38.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HII shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $188.00 to $145.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Huntington Ingalls Industries has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.22.

Insider Transactions at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other news, Director Thomas C. Schievelbein purchased 2,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $164.82 per share, with a total value of $349,418.40. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,967 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Nicolas G. Schuck sold 750 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,884 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Huntington Ingalls Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HII. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,029,322 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $950,391,000 after acquiring an additional 14,988 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,048,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $197,677,000 after purchasing an additional 29,670 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 831,965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $157,216,000 after purchasing an additional 204,376 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 578,488 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $109,316,000 after buying an additional 77,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 453,178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $85,637,000 after buying an additional 31,934 shares in the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.