Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is cautious: Huntington Ingalls Industries has a consensus rating of "Hold" from 11 analysts, with four buys and seven holds. The average 1-year price target is $388.50.
• Recent earnings beat expectations: The company reported $3.79 EPS on revenue of $3.10 billion, both ahead of Wall Street estimates. Revenue rose 13.4% year over year, and analysts expect full-year EPS of 17.32.
• HII continues returning cash to shareholders: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 1.9%. The payout ratio is currently 35.91%.

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $388.50.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Huntington Ingalls Industries in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Bank of America upgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $300.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

NYSE HII opened at $297.19 on Tuesday. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a fifty-two week low of $215.04 and a fifty-two week high of $460.00. The stock has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.23. The business has a fifty day moving average of $360.93 and a 200-day moving average of $372.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.79 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In related news, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 4,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.45, for a total value of $1,858,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 20,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,601,082. This represents a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric D. Chewning sold 1,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.44, for a total value of $736,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at $844,774.56. The trade was a 46.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $3,714,158. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HII. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 140.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 108 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Bayban acquired a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the first quarter worth about $27,000. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 87.2% during the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 88 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 363.3% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Company 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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