First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ:FHB)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $28.32 and last traded at $28.31, with a volume of 386804 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FHB has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of First Hawaiian from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of First Hawaiian from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $28.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Zacks Research downgraded First Hawaiian from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First Hawaiian from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Hawaiian in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $27.64.

First Hawaiian Trading Down 3.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $25.83 and a 200-day moving average of $25.23.

First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $226.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $218.22 million. First Hawaiian had a return on equity of 9.68% and a net margin of 22.60%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that First Hawaiian, Inc. will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Hawaiian

In other news, insider Alan Arizumi sold 36,460 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.35, for a total value of $924,261.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 37,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $950,827.80. The trade was a 49.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Hawaiian

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Hawaiian by 131.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,891,661 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644,752 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First Hawaiian by 230.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,206,361 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,784,000 after buying an additional 1,539,415 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in First Hawaiian in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,362,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of First Hawaiian by 162.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 536,855 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,330,000 after buying an additional 332,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of First Hawaiian by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 905,949 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,495,000 after buying an additional 176,666 shares during the last quarter. 97.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Hawaiian Company Profile

First Hawaiian, Inc is the oldest and largest bank in Hawaii, operating as the bank holding company for First Hawaiian Bank. Established in 1858, the company offers a full suite of financial services to individual, business and institutional clients. Its product portfolio includes consumer and commercial lending, deposit accounts, treasury and cash management, foreign exchange and trade finance, as well as wealth management and trust services.

First Hawaiian serves customers through an extensive network of branches, ATMs and digital channels across the Hawaiian Islands, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa.