Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 26,870,000 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the June 30th total of 25,070,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,940,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HE. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and one has issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $11.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hawaiian Electric Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Hawaiian Electric Industries by 686.9% in the fourth quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 2,109 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,841 shares during the period. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in Hawaiian Electric Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Hawaiian Electric Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Hawaiian Electric Industries by 54.4% in the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Hawaiian Electric Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 59.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hawaiian Electric Industries Price Performance

HE traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $16.83. 1,300,841 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,100,724. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $11.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.49. Hawaiian Electric Industries has a 1-year low of $7.61 and a 1-year high of $38.63.

Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE:HE) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $897.16 million during the quarter. Hawaiian Electric Industries had a net margin of 5.16% and a return on equity of 9.58%.

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.