Argent Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)

Argent Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,004 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,135,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HII. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 316.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 346 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,748 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,865,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,753 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,521,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 82.4% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 71,481 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $18,898,000 after acquiring an additional 32,302 shares during the period. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $188.00 to $145.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays cut their price target on 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. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Huntington Ingalls Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.22.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

Shares of HII opened at $207.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $186.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.48. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $158.88 and a one year high of $294.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.49.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.15 EPS 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, research analysts predict that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas C. Schievelbein acquired 2,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.82 per share, with a total value of $349,418.40. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,967 shares in the company, valued at $1,313,120.94. This represents a 36.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Nicolas G. Schuck sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.56, for a total value of $142,170.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Company 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.