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

First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ:FHB) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,450,000 shares, a decline of 6.9% from the December 15th total of 4,780,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 677,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days. Approximately 3.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

First Hawaiian Trading Up 0.8 %

First Hawaiian stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $26.09. The stock had a trading volume of 445,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 666,364. First Hawaiian has a one year low of $19.48 and a one year high of $28.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $26.56 and its 200 day moving average is $24.72.

First Hawaiian Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. First Hawaiian’s payout ratio is 59.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Hawaiian

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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