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

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In related news, Director Thomas C. Schievelbein bought 2,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $164.82 per share, for a total transaction of $349,418.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,313,120.94. The trade was a 36.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $142,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $546,691.04. The trade was a 20.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,029,322 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $950,391,000 after buying an additional 14,988 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 5.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,519,111 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $930,383,000 after acquiring an additional 187,411 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,048,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $197,677,000 after acquiring an additional 29,670 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 831,965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $157,216,000 after purchasing an additional 204,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 578,488 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $109,316,000 after purchasing an additional 77,718 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:HII opened at $196.34 on Monday. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a 52 week low of $158.88 and a 52 week high of $294.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $186.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.01. The firm has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on HII. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $188.00 to $145.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Huntington Ingalls Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.22.

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.