Howard Capital Management Inc. Invests $349,000 in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management Inc. has made a new investment in Huntington Ingalls Industries, purchasing 1,713 shares valued at approximately $349,000 during the 1st quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have recently boosted their price targets for Huntington Ingalls, with Goldman Sachs raising its target from $236.00 to $265.00, and TD Cowen from $250.00 to $300.00, reflecting growing positive sentiment towards the company.
• Huntington Ingalls Industries recently reported earnings of $3.86 per share, exceeding analyst estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35, providing an annualized yield of 1.9%.

Howard Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,713 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $349,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. HM Payson & Co. increased its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 71.9% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 153 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HII shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $236.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. TD Cowen raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $251.38.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Price Performance

NYSE HII traded down $9.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $269.26. 763,551 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 471,886. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.88 and a 1-year high of $293.14. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $243.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $216.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.33.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 4.54% and a return on equity of 11.34%. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.38 earnings per share. Huntington Ingalls Industries's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Huntington Ingalls Industries's payout ratio is currently 40.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Anastasi D. Kelly sold 1,960 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.58, for a total value of $455,856.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,066,661.30. The trade was a 10.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Edmond E. Jr. Hughes sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.91, for a total transaction of $301,483.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,221,929.71. This trade represents a 11.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,225 shares of company stock valued at $1,207,207. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

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.