Short Interest in Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE) Increases By 16.1%

Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,800,000 shares, a growth of 16.1% from the October 31st total of 8,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries from $14.00 to $11.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Hawaiian Electric Industries in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $11.50 target price on the stock.

Hawaiian Electric Industries Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries stock traded down $0.16 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.19. 2,005,942 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,364,817. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $10.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.14. The stock has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.86 and a beta of 0.53. Hawaiian Electric Industries has a 12-month low of $7.61 and a 12-month high of $18.19.

Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE:HE) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.07). The business 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hawaiian Electric Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,059,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $124,638,000 after buying an additional 160,815 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in Hawaiian Electric Industries by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 12,172 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 79,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 3,551 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries by 22.2% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 75,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 13,660 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries during the first quarter worth approximately $182,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.91% of the company’s stock.

Hawaiian Electric Industries Company Profile

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.