Huntington Ingalls Stock Draws Focus On Landing $6.7B Air Force Award, But Retail Sentiment Dips Slightly

Shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc (HII), a global, all-domain defense provider, were in focus on Thursday after the company announced it has received a $6.7 billion contract to provide electronic warfare engineering and technical services support for the U.S. Air Force.

The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract is the largest ever awarded to HII’s Mission Technologies division, the firm said in a statement.

Andy Green, executive vice president of HII and president of HII’s Mission Technologies division said the firm has a team of subject matter experts with deep expertise in all aspects of electromagnetic spectrum and electronic warfare.

“…we are committed to staying a step ahead of our adversaries alongside our customers as the complexity of warfare changes,” he said.

On Wednesday, the company announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the assets of W International SC, LLC and Vivid Empire SC, LLC, a South Carolina-based complex metal fabricator specializing in the manufacture of shipbuilding structures, modules and assemblies.

Following the completion of the transaction, the Goose Creek manufacturing facility will operate within HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division. The site will support the construction of nuclear-powered submarine and aircraft carrier modules and structures for U.S. Navy programs, it said.

The company expects the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Despite the positive announcements, retail sentiment on Stocktwits inched lower into the ‘bullish’ territory (68/100) from ‘extremely bullish’ a day ago.  

One user expressed bullish take on the stock but believes there is more value to be unlocked here.

Another user praised the recent development.

Recently, Bank of America reportedly lowered the firm's price target on HII to $195 from $250, while keeping an ‘Underperform’ rating on the shares.

Shares of HII were trading in the red on Thursday and have lost over 26% since the beginning of the year.

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