Principal Securities Inc. Makes New Investment in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)

Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 291 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Level Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HII shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $288.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $310.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Up 0.3 %

HII opened at $254.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $273.03 and its 200 day moving average is $264.42. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.52 and a fifty-two week high of $299.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.60.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The aerospace company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.50 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $2.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 6.09% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 16.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 29.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Huntington Ingalls Industries news, VP Jennifer R. Boykin sold 1,043 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.03, for a total value of $262,867.29. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,014,530.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Huntington Ingalls Industries news, VP Jennifer R. Boykin sold 1,043 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.03, for a total value of $262,867.29. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,014,530.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Edmond E. Jr. Hughes sold 1,500 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.07, for a total transaction of $384,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,083,129.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,439 shares of company stock valued at $2,071,170. Company insiders own 0.72% 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.