Short Interest in First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ:FHB) Expands By 6.7%

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FHB. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in First Hawaiian by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,229 shares of the bank’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in First Hawaiian by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,296 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in First Hawaiian by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,838 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in First Hawaiian by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Hawaiian by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 37,546 shares of the bank’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the period. 97.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Hawaiian Stock Performance

Shares of FHB stock opened at $25.95 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.26. First Hawaiian has a twelve month low of $19.48 and a twelve month 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 dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. First Hawaiian’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on FHB shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on First Hawaiian from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of First Hawaiian from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Stephens began coverage on shares of First Hawaiian in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of First Hawaiian from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.86.

About First Hawaiian

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.