Wills Financial Group LLC Makes New $230,000 Investment in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)

Key Points

• Wills Financial Group LLC has acquired a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. worth approximately $230,000 by purchasing 1,126 shares during the first quarter.
• Insider trading activity included VP Edmond E. Jr. Hughes selling 1,300 shares, reducing his stake by 11.95%, and Director Anastasi D. Kelly selling 1,960 shares, which decreased their holdings by 10.08%.
• Analysts are optimistic about Huntington Ingalls Industries, with upgrades from several firms and a boost in price targets, including Goldman Sachs raising its target to $265.00.

Wills Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,126 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

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

Insider Transactions at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other Huntington Ingalls Industries news, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 1,965 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.94, for a total transaction of $449,867.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 21,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,859,938.32. This trade represents a 8.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Edmond E. Jr. Hughes sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.91, for a total transaction of $301,483.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,221,929.71. The trade was a 11.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:HII traded up $5.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $270.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 582,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 511,111. The business's fifty day moving average is $243.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $10.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.33. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.88 and a 1 year high of $293.14.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The aerospace company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 4.54% and a return on equity of 11.34%. The company's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.38 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HII. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $236.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $235.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $258.88.

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.