Short Interest in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) Expands By 5.5%

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 928,900 shares, an increase of 5.5% from the November 30th total of 880,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 539,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 2.4% of the company's shares are sold short.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

Shares of HII stock traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $188.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 342,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 557,721. The stock has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.55. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a 12-month low of $184.29 and a 12-month high of $299.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $200.07 and a 200 day moving average of $240.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The aerospace company reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.84 by ($1.28). Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The company had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.70 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 14.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a boost from Huntington Ingalls Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Huntington Ingalls Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other Huntington Ingalls Industries news, VP D R. Wyatt sold 400 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.24, for a total transaction of $82,096.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,627 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,028,245.48. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Ingalls Industries

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 94.5% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,778,210 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $455,222,000 after purchasing an additional 863,800 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 41.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 732,587 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $180,458,000 after buying an additional 215,362 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,519,111 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $930,383,000 after acquiring an additional 187,411 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $47,698,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 42.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 473,778 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $116,706,000 after acquiring an additional 140,338 shares during the period. 90.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HII. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $226.00 to $194.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $250.00 to $195.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen lowered Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $273.00 to $191.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $228.89.

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.