Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE:HE) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE:HE) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on HE. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Hawaiian Electric Industries in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $11.50 price target for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Hawaiian Electric Industries from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Hawaiian Electric Industries from $14.00 to $11.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th.

Hawaiian Electric Industries Stock Performance

Hawaiian Electric Industries stock opened at $9.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.18. Hawaiian Electric Industries has a one year low of $7.61 and a one year high of $18.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $10.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of -0.79 and a beta of 0.53.

Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE:HE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $983.38 million for the quarter. Hawaiian Electric Industries had a positive return on equity of 11.12% and a negative net margin of 35.38%. Hawaiian Electric Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hawaiian Electric Industries will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hawaiian Electric Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries by 23.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 638,156 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,756,000 after acquiring an additional 120,208 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Hawaiian Electric Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Hawaiian Electric Industries by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 28,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 2,482 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Hawaiian Electric Industries by 56.2% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 175,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 63,241 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries by 62.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 62,952 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 24,087 shares during the period. 59.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.