River Road Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. $HII

Key Points

• River Road Asset Management reduced its Huntington Ingalls stake by 21.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 43,585 shares and leaving it with 162,712 shares valued at about $55.3 million.
• Huntington Ingalls reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.79 versus the $3.70 consensus and revenue of $3.10 billion versus $3.02 billion expected, with revenue up 13.4% year over year.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share (1.9% annualized yield), while analysts currently view the stock cautiously with a consensus “Hold” rating and average price target of $388.50.

River Road Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Free Report) by 21.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 162,712 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 43,585 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC owned 0.41% of Huntington Ingalls Industries worth $55,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 38,526.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,986,567 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $675,572,000 after buying an additional 1,981,424 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 85.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,085,619 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $369,186,000 after acquiring an additional 498,690 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,646,733 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $560,004,000 after acquiring an additional 400,428 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 588.1% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 351,879 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $119,663,000 after acquiring an additional 300,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 390.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 285,339 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $97,036,000 after acquiring an additional 227,126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.46% of the company's stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Price Performance

HII stock opened at $284.79 on Friday. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $228.69 and a 1 year high of $460.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $335.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $370.81.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 4.71%.The firm's revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $1.38 dividend. 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 1.9%. Huntington Ingalls Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.91%.

Insider Activity at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other news, VP Edmond E. Jr. Hughes sold 3,500 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction 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 owned 8,391 shares in the company, valued at $2,681,595.78. The trade was a 29.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HII. Citigroup lowered their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $441.00 to $405.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Huntington Ingalls Industries has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $388.50.

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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