Wellington Shields & Co. LLC Makes New $439,000 Investment in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)

Key Points

• Wellington Shields & Co. LLC acquired 2,150 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, valued at approximately $439,000, in the first quarter.
• Insider transactions revealed that VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 1,965 shares, and Director Anastasi D. Kelly sold 1,960 shares, both indicating a decrease in their respective holdings.
• Brokerages have raised their price targets for Huntington Ingalls Industries, with Barclays setting a new target of $235.00 and Alembic Global Advisors increasing it to $265.00.

Wellington Shields & Co. LLC bought a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,150 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $439,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HII. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. HM Payson & Co. boosted its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 71.9% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 153 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the first quarter worth $31,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $61,000. 90.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Down 3.4%

HII traded down $9.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $269.26. The stock had a trading volume of 763,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 655,502. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $242.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $215.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.07. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.88 and a twelve month high of $293.14. The company has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.31.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The aerospace company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.63. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 4.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Huntington Ingalls Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.90%.

Insider Transactions at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other Huntington Ingalls Industries news, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 1,965 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.94, for a total transaction of $449,867.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 21,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,859,938.32. The trade was a 8.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Anastasi D. Kelly sold 1,960 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.58, for a total value of $455,856.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,485 shares in the company, valued at $4,066,661.30. This represents a 10.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,225 shares of company stock worth $1,207,207 over the last three months. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HII has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $236.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $251.38.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Company Profile

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.