Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Huntington Ingalls shares gapped down, opening at $338.13 after a $363.37 close and last trading near $331.80, leaving the stock below its 50‑day ($404.59) and 200‑day ($369.64) moving averages.
• Wall Street holds a mixed view with a consensus of Moderate Buy and an average target of $383.22 (six Buy, six Hold), while several firms have recently raised price targets.
• The company beat quarterly EPS estimates ($3.79 vs. $3.70) with revenue up 13.4% and announced a $1.38 quarterly dividend (1.7% yield), but there were notable insider sales and insiders own just 0.8% while institutions hold ~90.5%.

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $363.37, but opened at $338.13. Huntington Ingalls Industries shares last traded at $331.7950, with a volume of 189,050 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HII has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $384.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $465.00 to $441.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Huntington Ingalls Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $383.22.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $404.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $369.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.29.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.09. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.28%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.79 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 17.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Huntington Ingalls Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other news, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 4,400 shares of the firm'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 sale, the vice president owned 20,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,601,082. This trade represents a 17.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Eric D. Chewning sold 1,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 approximately $844,774.56. This trade represents a 46.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Huntington Ingalls Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 775 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $670,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 231 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA raised its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 821 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 2,205 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.46% of the company's stock.

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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