Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 880,600 shares, a growth of 17.1% from the November 15th total of 751,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 503,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on HII. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $290.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Huntington Ingalls Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $280.00 to $285.00 in a report on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $273.00 to $191.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $250.00 to $195.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.89.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Trading Up 3.1 %

HII stock traded up $5.99 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $198.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 310,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 355,050. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.55. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a 1 year low of $184.29 and a 1 year high of $299.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.30.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The aerospace company reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.84 by ($1.28). The company had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 16.89%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 14.01 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is an increase from Huntington Ingalls Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other news, VP D R. Wyatt sold 400 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.24, for a total transaction of $82,096.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,028,245.48. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 5.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,519,111 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $930,383,000 after buying an additional 187,411 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 94.5% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,778,210 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $455,222,000 after acquiring an additional 863,800 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,018,812 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $268,520,000 after acquiring an additional 5,036 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 41.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 732,587 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $180,458,000 after purchasing an additional 215,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.9% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 638,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $157,326,000 after purchasing an additional 11,693 shares in the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.