Sanford C. Bernstein Has Lowered Expectations for Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) Stock Price

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Huntington Ingalls Industries’ price target from $341 to $327 while maintaining a “market perform” rating, implying 19.56% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive: HII has an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $367.12, despite recent target reductions from some firms.
• HII reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $5.27 per share versus the $3.79 estimate and revenue of $3.42 billion, up 10.9% year over year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by Sanford C. Bernstein from $341.00 to $327.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "market perform" rating on the aerospace company's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's price target suggests a potential upside of 19.56% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $420.00 to $360.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $364.00 price objective for the company 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of 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, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $349.00 to $379.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $367.12.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:HII traded up $2.56 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $273.50. 69,330 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 524,257. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $295.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $326.81. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a 52-week low of $263.62 and a 52-week high of $460.00. 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 stock has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.23.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $5.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.79 by $1.48. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The company had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.86 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 18.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Huntington Ingalls Industries

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HII. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 775 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,532 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 3.0% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 3.3% in the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $414,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,213 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $753,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.46% of the company's stock.

About Huntington Ingalls Industries

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc NYSE: HII is a U.S. defense company focused on designing, building, modernizing and maintaining military ships and providing technology services to government customers. It is the largest military shipbuilding company in the United States and one of the few companies capable of designing and constructing nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines.

HII operates through three primary businesses: Newport News Shipbuilding, Ingalls Shipbuilding and Mission Technologies.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.