Short Interest in Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE) Expands By 38.1%

Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 15,630,000 shares, an increase of 38.1% from the September 15th total of 11,320,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,220,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Hawaiian Electric Industries Stock Performance

Hawaiian Electric Industries stock opened at $10.11 on Tuesday. Hawaiian Electric Industries has a 52 week low of $7.61 and a 52 week high of $18.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.45 and a 200-day moving average of $11.23.

Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE:HE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $792.30 million for the quarter. Hawaiian Electric Industries had a positive return on equity of 10.69% and a negative net margin of 31.76%. The company’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hawaiian Electric Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HE. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Hawaiian Electric Industries in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries by 54.4% in the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Hawaiian Electric Industries during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. bought a new position in Hawaiian Electric Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Hawaiian Electric Industries by 30.8% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 1,986 shares during the period. 59.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on HE. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Hawaiian Electric Industries from $16.00 to $9.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Hawaiian Electric Industries from $14.00 to $11.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th.

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.