Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Huntington Ingalls with an "equal weight" rating and a $400 price target, implying roughly a 5.5% upside from the prior close.
• HII reported a quarter-beating quarter—$4.04 EPS vs. $3.72 expected and $3.48B revenue vs. $3.09B expected—with revenue up 15.7% year-over-year and the stock trading around $379 (1‑yr range $177–$460).
• The consensus from analysts is a Moderate Buy (six Buy, six Hold) with an average target of $385.89, while insiders have recently sold shares and institutional investors own about 90.46% of the stock.

Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage set an "equal weight" rating and a $400.00 price target on the aerospace company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would indicate a potential upside of 5.49% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on HII. Melius Research raised shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $450.00 to $465.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $421.00 price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Huntington Ingalls Industries presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $385.89.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Trading Up 2.7%

Huntington Ingalls Industries stock opened at $379.18 on Wednesday. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a one year low of $177.42 and a one year high of $460.00. The business's fifty day moving average is $417.24 and its 200 day moving average is $353.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.88 billion, a PE ratio of 24.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The aerospace company reported $4.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 4.85%.Huntington Ingalls Industries's revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.15 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 13.99 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 4,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.45, for a total transaction of $1,858,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 20,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,601,082. The trade was a 17.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Eric D. Chewning sold 1,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 directly owned 1,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $844,774.56. This represents a 46.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Korea Investment CORP purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,604,000. Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the third quarter valued at about $2,260,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 51.2% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,746 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $7,125,000 after acquiring an additional 8,384 shares in the last quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 76.7% in the third quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 8,120 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,338,000 after acquiring an additional 3,525 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 31.2% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 12,560 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,502,000 after purchasing an additional 2,990 shares in the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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