Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) and Exelis (NYSE:XLS) are both aerospace companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends and institutional ownership.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
86.6% of Huntington Ingalls Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Huntington Ingalls Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Huntington Ingalls Industries and Exelis’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Huntington Ingalls Industries | 7.93% | 31.12% | 8.28% |
| Exelis | 7.52% | 18.51% | 4.87% |
Dividends
Huntington Ingalls Industries pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Exelis does not pay a dividend. Huntington Ingalls Industries pays out 19.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Huntington Ingalls Industries has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Huntington Ingalls Industries and Exelis, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Huntington Ingalls Industries | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Exelis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Huntington Ingalls Industries presently has a consensus price target of $202.17, suggesting a potential downside of 3.24%. Given Huntington Ingalls Industries’ higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Huntington Ingalls Industries is more favorable than Exelis.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Huntington Ingalls Industries and Exelis’ gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Huntington Ingalls Industries | $7.19 billion | 1.32 | $1.03 billion | $12.24 | 17.07 |
| Exelis | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Huntington Ingalls Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Exelis.
Summary
Huntington Ingalls Industries beats Exelis on 10 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.
Huntington Ingalls Industries Company Profile
Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. is a military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. The Company’s business consists of the design, construction, repair and maintenance of nuclear-powered ships and non-nuclear ships for the United States Navy and coastal defense surface ships for the United States Coast Guard, as well as the refueling and overhaul and inactivation of nuclear-powered ships for the United States Navy. It operates through three segments: Ingalls Shipbuilding (Ingalls), Newport News Shipbuilding (Newport News) and Technical Solutions. Its Ingalls segment includes its non-nuclear ship design, construction, repair and maintenance businesses. Its Newport News includes all of its nuclear ship design, construction, overhaul, refueling, and repair and maintenance businesses. Its Technical Solutions segment provides a range of professional services to the governmental, energy, and oil and gas markets.
Exelis Company Profile
Exelis Inc. (Exelis) is a diversified aerospace, defense, information and services company. The Company delivers mission-critical solutions to military, government and commercial customers in the United States and globally. It operates in two segments: Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) Electronics and Systems, and Information and Technical Services. Its C4ISR Electronics and Systems segment provides engineered systems and solutions, including: ISR systems; integrated electronic warfare systems; radar and sonar systems; electronic attack and release systems; communications solutions; space systems, and composite aerostructures. The Company’s Information and Technical Services segment provides a range of service solutions: systems integration; network design and development; air traffic management; cyber; intelligence; advanced engineering, and space launch and range-support.
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