First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ:FHB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ:FHB) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,780,000 shares, a growth of 6.7% from the November 30th total of 4,480,000 shares. Approximately 3.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 653,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.3 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of First Hawaiian by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,838 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Hawaiian in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Hawaiian by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in First Hawaiian by 459.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,483 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 2,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in First Hawaiian by 49.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,163 shares of the bank’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.63% of the company’s stock.

First Hawaiian Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ FHB traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $26.22. The stock had a trading volume of 25,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 661,927. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $26.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 0.98. First Hawaiian has a 52-week low of $19.48 and a 52-week high of $28.80.

First Hawaiian Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. First Hawaiian’s payout ratio is currently 59.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of First Hawaiian in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on First Hawaiian from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on First Hawaiian from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on First Hawaiian from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of First Hawaiian from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Hawaiian presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.86.

First Hawaiian Company Profile

First Hawaiian, Inc operates as a bank holding company for First Hawaiian Bank that provides a range of banking products and services to consumer and commercial customers in the United States. It operates in three segments: Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Other. The company offers various deposit products, including checking, savings, and time deposit accounts, and other deposit accounts.