Verition Fund Management LLC Lowers Position in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)

Verition Fund Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Free Report) by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,275 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 4,231 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC's holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries were worth $601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HII. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the second quarter worth about $37,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 484.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 152 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $226.00 to $194.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen downgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $273.00 to $191.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America cut their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $250.00 to $195.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $290.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $228.89.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock traded up $0.67 on Wednesday, reaching $191.65. 695,995 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 353,908. The company has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.55. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $184.29 and a 52 week high of $299.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm's 50-day moving average is $220.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.20.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The aerospace company reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.84 by ($1.28). Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 5.99%. The company had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.70 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 14.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. This is a positive change from Huntington Ingalls Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Huntington Ingalls Industries's payout ratio is presently 30.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP D R. Wyatt sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Profile

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.