Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $172.30, but opened at $186.50. Huntington Ingalls Industries shares last traded at $189.88, with a volume of 354,007 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on HII shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of 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 reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.22.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $185.42 and its 200 day moving average is $217.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas C. Schievelbein bought 2,120 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.82 per share, with a total value of $349,418.40. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,553 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $939,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,930 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,254,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 11,363 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,004,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1834 Investment Advisors Co. increased its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 1,932 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.