Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE) Short Interest Update

Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 15,490,000 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the February 13th total of 12,990,000 shares. Approximately 9.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,270,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Hawaiian Electric Industries Stock Up 1.2 %

Hawaiian Electric Industries stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $11.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,177,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,451,406. The company has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.94 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.18. Hawaiian Electric Industries has a one year low of $7.61 and a one year high of $18.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18.

Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE:HE) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.19). Hawaiian Electric Industries had a negative net margin of 35.38% and a positive return on equity of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $799.18 million for the quarter. On average, analysts expect that Hawaiian Electric Industries will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hawaiian Electric Industries

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Hawaiian Electric Industries by 203.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,078 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,062 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Hawaiian Electric Industries by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its position in Hawaiian Electric Industries by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,715 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in Hawaiian Electric Industries by 156.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,503 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HE shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their target price on Hawaiian Electric Industries from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Hawaiian Electric Industries from $11.50 to $10.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Hawaiian Electric Industries from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $12.00 to $14.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hawaiian Electric Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

About Hawaiian Electric Industries

Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the electric utility businesses in the United States. It operates in three segments: Electric Utility, Bank, and Other. The Electric Utility segment engages in the production, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, and Molokai.