Argent Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)

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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 187,411 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,018,812 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $268,520,000 after purchasing an additional 5,036 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 453,178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $85,637,000 after purchasing an additional 31,934 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 132.9% in the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 420,102 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $79,387,000 after purchasing an additional 239,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 362,396 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $68,482,000 after purchasing an additional 6,080 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Trading Up 5.5 %

HII opened at $207.04 on Tuesday. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $158.88 and a one year high of $294.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $186.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $212.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 12.81%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Insider Activity at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other Huntington Ingalls Industries news, CAO Nicolas G. Schuck sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $546,691.04. This represents a 20.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas C. Schievelbein purchased 2,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $164.82 per share, for a total transaction of $349,418.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,313,120.94. This represents a 36.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on HII shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $188.00 to $145.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.22.

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.