Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII) announced a profit for fourth quarter that decreased from the same period last year but

The results fell short of Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $3.28 per share. The shipbuilder posted revenue of $3 billion in the period, also missing Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $3.03 billion.

Huntington Ingalls Industries is the largest independent military shipbuilder in the US, spun off of Northrop Grumman in 2011. It operates three segments, two of which are storied shipyards: Ingalls produces non-nuclear-powered ships including amphibious landing ships and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers while Newport News produces nuclear-powered ships as the only producer of Gerald Ford-class aircraft carriers and a major subcontractor on Virginia and Columbia-class nuclear submarines.

The financial outlook provided by Huntington Ingalls projected mid to long-term revenue growth of over 4%, with specific growth in shipbuilding revenue at around 4% and Mission Technologies revenue at approximately 5%.

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII) is down by 18 percent during Thursday's trading, falling $34.00 to $161.58. The stock

Shares of Huntington Ingalls slid premarket after the shipbuilder posted lower fourth-quarter earnings and revenue, amid struggles at a Virginia shipyard. Shares of Huntington slid 11% to $174.90 in premarket trading.