Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. $HII

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake by 71.2% in Huntington Ingalls Industries during Q4, owning 7,139 shares worth about $2.43 million after buying an additional 2,970 shares.
• HII reported a strong quarter—EPS of $4.04 vs. $3.72 expected and revenue of $3.48 billion vs. $3.09 billion expected—and the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $383.22.
• Two insiders recently sold shares (VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 4,400 shares at $422.45; EVP Eric D. Chewning sold 1,700 shares at $433.44), leaving insiders with 0.80% ownership while institutions hold about 90.46% of the stock.

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Free Report) by 71.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,139 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,970 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries were worth $2,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. CI Investments Inc. boosted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 16.7% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 231 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. lifted its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 2,535 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $730,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 5,758 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,658,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 438 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Melius Research raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $421.00 price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Bank of America raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $300.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $384.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $383.22.

Insider Transactions at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In related news, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.45, for a total transaction of $1,858,780.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 20,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,601,082. This represents a 17.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric D. Chewning sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.44, for a total value of $736,848.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,949 shares in the company, valued at $844,774.56. This trade represents a 46.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

Shares of HII opened at $392.24 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $412.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $365.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.13. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $211.49 and a 52-week high of $460.00.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The aerospace company reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.09 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 4.85%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.15 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 17.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Huntington Ingalls Industries's dividend payout ratio is 35.91%.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Profile

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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