Earnest Partners LLC Acquires 204,376 Shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)

Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) by 32.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 831,965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 204,376 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned 2.13% of Huntington Ingalls Industries worth $157,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 503.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 43.4% in the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $70,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 156.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other news, CAO Nicolas G. Schuck sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.56, for a total transaction of $142,170.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,691.04. This represents a 20.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas C. Schievelbein acquired 2,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.82 per share, for a total transaction of $349,418.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,967 shares in the company, 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

Shares of HII stock opened at $226.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $198.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $200.68. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $158.88 and a one year high of $285.81.

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

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HII shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $234.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned 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 $231.11.

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.