The Goldman Sachs Group Upgrades Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) to Buy

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Free Report) from a sell rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $234.00 price target on the aerospace company's stock, up from their prior price target of $145.00.

Separately, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $231.11.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

Huntington Ingalls Industries stock traded down $1.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $218.11. 722,156 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 506,655. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a 1 year low of $158.88 and a 1 year high of $285.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.34. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $188.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.82.

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Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by ($0.13). Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 4.77%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries will post 13.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Huntington Ingalls Industries's payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Huntington Ingalls Industries news, CAO Nicolas G. Schuck sold 750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.56, for a total transaction of $142,170.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $546,691.04. This trade represents a 20.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas C. Schievelbein acquired 2,120 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.82 per share, with a total value of $349,418.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,967 shares in the company, valued at $1,313,120.94. This trade represents a 36.26 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Huntington Ingalls Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HII. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 2,124 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 12.2% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 514 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 8.6% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 820 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,930 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,254,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.46% of the company's stock.

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.