Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Sunday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Melius upgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $362.00 price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a report on Friday, November 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $376.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $287.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $335.00.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:HII opened at $425.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a twelve month low of $158.88 and a twelve month high of $427.72. The company has a fifty day moving average of $337.97 and a 200-day moving average of $297.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.36.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The aerospace company reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.39. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 4.74% and a return on equity of 11.79%. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 13.99 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Huntington Ingalls Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 787 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.17, for a total value of $247,251.79. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 20,441 shares in the company, valued at $6,421,948.97. This represents a 3.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher D. Kastner sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.06, for a total transaction of $4,815,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 68,139 shares in the company, valued at $21,876,707.34. The trade was a 18.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,103 shares of company stock valued at $5,477,768. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 140.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 108 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 120.0% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, SouthState Corp grew its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 310.0% in the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 123 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

About Huntington Ingalls Industries

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) is America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a leading provider of professional services to the U.S. government. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII designs, constructs and maintains nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, submarines and other complex vessels for the U.S. Navy. The company’s products include nuclear aircraft carriers, Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines, as well as amphibious assault ships, destroyers and cutters.

Established in 2011 as a spin-off from Northrop Grumman’s shipbuilding operations, HII traces its heritage to two historic builders: Newport News Shipbuilding, founded in the 19th century, and Ingalls Shipbuilding, founded in 1938.