Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) Shares Break Above 50 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII – Get Free Report)’s stock price crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $279.14 and traded as high as $281.36. Huntington Ingalls Industries shares last traded at $280.7580, with a volume of 386,159 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on HII shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $364.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $349.00 to $379.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $327.00 to $304.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $361.75.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on HII

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Down 1.0%

The firm has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $277.60 and its 200 day moving average is $336.87.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $5.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.48. The business had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 5.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.86 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 18.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 27th. This is a positive change from Huntington Ingalls Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.61%.

Insider Activity at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In related news, CEO Christopher Kastner sold 13,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.92, for a total value of $4,246,704.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,646,902.08. The trade was a 53.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the second quarter valued at about $944,877,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,094,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,769,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,922,717 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $818,039,000 after buying an additional 227,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor acquired a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,449,000. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Huntington Ingalls Industries

(Get Free Report)

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc (NYSE:HII) is an American defense company that designs, builds, maintains and modernizes ships for the U.S. Navy and other government customers. Its shipbuilding activities include nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, submarines, amphibious assault ships, destroyers and other surface vessels, along with fleet sustainment and modernization services.

HII operates through its Newport News Shipbuilding and Ingalls Shipbuilding divisions. Newport News Shipbuilding is involved in the construction and maintenance of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines, while Ingalls Shipbuilding builds surface combatants and amphibious ships.

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