Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) Rating Lowered to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from “strong-buy” to “buy”, while the broader analyst view still sits at “Hold” with a consensus price target of $383.22.
• HII reported better-than-expected quarterly results, earning $3.79 per share on $3.10 billion in revenue, with revenue up 13.4% year over year.
• The stock was trading at $316.06, well below its 52-week high of $460, as recent insider selling and mixed analyst sentiment added caution around the name.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on HII. Weiss Ratings cut Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Huntington Ingalls Industries in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $421.00 target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $465.00 to $441.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $383.22.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

Shares of HII stock opened at $316.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.29. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a one year low of $215.04 and a one year high of $460.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $397.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $370.43.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.09. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 4.71% and a return on equity of 12.05%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.79 EPS. Huntington Ingalls Industries's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 17.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other Huntington Ingalls Industries news, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.45, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric D. Chewning sold 1,700 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.44, for a total transaction of $736,848.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,949 shares in the company, valued at $844,774.56. This represents a 46.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 140.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 108 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Bayban purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the first quarter worth about $27,000. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 87.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 120.0% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 110 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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