Short Interest in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) Grows By 68.7%

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,530,000 shares, a growth of 68.7% from the February 13th total of 1,500,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 753,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 6.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:HII traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $196.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 790,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 454,250. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.92. 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 has a twelve month low of $158.88 and a twelve month high of $294.81. The stock has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.49.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 13.99 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Nicolas G. Schuck sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.56, for a total value of $142,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas C. Schievelbein purchased 2,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $164.82 per share, with a total value of $349,418.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,313,120.94. This represents a 36.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HII. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1,648.4% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 375,872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $71,029,000 after purchasing an additional 354,374 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,215,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 132.9% during the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 420,102 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $79,387,000 after acquiring an additional 239,688 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 4,900.7% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 210,480 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $39,774,000 after acquiring an additional 206,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 204,376 shares in the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on HII. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective 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. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Huntington Ingalls Industries has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.22.

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.