Patton Fund Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. $HII

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management sharply increased its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries, boosting its stake by 1,377.2% in the first quarter to 10,606 shares worth about $4.03 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on HII remains cautious: several firms recently lowered ratings or price targets, and the stock currently has a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $388.50.
• Huntington Ingalls reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $3.79 beating estimates and revenue rising 13.4% year over year; the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share, yielding about 2.0% annually.

Patton Fund Management Inc. boosted its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Free Report) by 1,377.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,606 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,888 shares during the period. Huntington Ingalls Industries makes up about 0.7% of Patton Fund Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries were worth $4,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HII. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $670,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 231 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 821 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 2,205 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HII has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $388.50.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of HII opened at $281.28 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.23. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $236.65 and a one year high of $460.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $320.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $369.58.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.79 EPS. Huntington Ingalls Industries's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Huntington Ingalls Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Edmond E. Jr. Hughes sold 3,500 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.58, for a total value of $1,118,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 8,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,681,595.78. The trade was a 29.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

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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