Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. $HII

Key Points

• Los Angeles Capital Management cut its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 63.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,130 shares and leaving it with 4,706 shares worth about $1.5 million.
• Analyst sentiment on HII remains cautious overall, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $388.50; recent firms have trimmed targets or downgraded ratings.
• The company reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, including EPS of $3.79 and revenue of $3.10 billion, and it announced a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share to be paid June 12.

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Free Report) by 63.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,706 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 8,130 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries were worth $1,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Havemeyer Place LP purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,197,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 2,998 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,019,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 568 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $848,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 2,808 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HII has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $421.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $441.00 to $405.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $388.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Edmond E. Jr. Hughes sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.58, for a total transaction of $1,118,530.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,391 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,681,595.78. The trade was a 29.43% 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. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Price Performance

HII opened at $289.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.19. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.04 and a 52-week high of $460.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.23. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $346.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $371.50.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.09. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 4.71%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.79 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Huntington Ingalls Industries's payout ratio is 35.91%.

About Huntington Ingalls Industries

Huntington Ingalls Industries NYSE: HII is America's largest military shipbuilding company and a leading provider of professional services to the U.S. government. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII designs, constructs and maintains nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, submarines and other complex vessels for the U.S. Navy. The company's products include nuclear aircraft carriers, Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines, as well as amphibious assault ships, destroyers and cutters.

Established in 2011 as a spin-off from Northrop Grumman's shipbuilding operations, HII traces its heritage to two historic builders: Newport News Shipbuilding, founded in the 19th century, and Ingalls Shipbuilding, founded in 1938.

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