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

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein cut Huntington Ingalls Industries’ price target from $327 to $304 while maintaining a “market perform” rating, implying about 16% upside from the stock’s $261.90 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $361.75; recent targets range from $340 to $379.
• HII exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.27 in earnings per share versus the $3.79 consensus and $3.42 billion in revenue, up 10.9% year over year. Institutional investors own approximately 90.46% of the company.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at Sanford C. Bernstein from $327.00 to $304.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "market perform" rating on the aerospace company's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's price objective suggests a potential upside of 16.07% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on HII. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $360.00 to $340.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $364.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $361.75.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Price Performance

HII traded up $4.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $261.90. The stock had a trading volume of 70,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 524,829. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $287.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $310.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.21. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a 1-year low of $255.35 and a 1-year high of $460.00.

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

Insider Activity

In other Huntington Ingalls Industries news, CEO Christopher Kastner sold 13,070 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.92, for a total value of $4,246,704.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,646,902.08. This represents a 53.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the second quarter worth $944,877,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 227,439 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 832,452 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $316,249,000 after purchasing an additional 19,843 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 471,429 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $179,097,000 after purchasing an additional 10,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 2nd quarter worth about $75,094,000. 90.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Huntington Ingalls Industries

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc NYSE: HII is a U.S. defense company that designs, builds, maintains and modernizes military ships and provides technology services to government and defense customers. Its principal customers include the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, intelligence agencies and other federal organizations.

Through Newport News Shipbuilding, HII builds and services nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and supports the construction and maintenance of nuclear-powered submarines.

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