Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Buys 27,000 Shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. $HII

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 49.5%, acquiring an additional 27,000 shares, bringing its total to 81,515 shares valued at approximately $16.63 million.
• Wall Street analysts have shown optimism for Huntington Ingalls, with upgrades from several firms, leading to projections of target prices ranging from $260.00 to $300.00.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.0%, with a payout ratio of 40.42%.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Free Report) by 49.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,515 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,000 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.21% of Huntington Ingalls Industries worth $16,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 71.9% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 153 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 1st quarter worth $61,000. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Huntington Ingalls Industries news, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 1,965 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.94, for a total transaction of $449,867.10. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 21,228 shares in the company, valued at $4,859,938.32. This trade represents a 8.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Down 1.7%

HII traded down $4.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $270.50. 363,920 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 420,037. The stock has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.33. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.88 and a fifty-two week high of $293.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $259.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $226.85.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The aerospace company reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 4.54%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.38 earnings per share. Huntington Ingalls Industries has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Huntington Ingalls Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Alembic Global Advisors raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Zacks Research lowered Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. TD Cowen raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $235.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $267.00.

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.