Short Interest in First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ:FHB) Declines By 6.9%

First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ:FHB) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of 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. Approximately 3.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 677,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days.

First Hawaiian Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ FHB traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 445,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 666,364. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.99. First Hawaiian has a one year low of $19.48 and a one year high of $28.80.

First Hawaiian Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FHB. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on First Hawaiian from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Stephens began 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 target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of First Hawaiian from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Hawaiian has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Hawaiian

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in First Hawaiian during the second quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in First Hawaiian in the 2nd quarter valued at $223,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of First Hawaiian by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,081,270 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,207,000 after purchasing an additional 139,291 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of First Hawaiian by 7.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,205,140 shares of the bank’s stock worth $108,057,000 after purchasing an additional 370,722 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of First Hawaiian by 30.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 513,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,650,000 after buying an additional 120,400 shares in the last quarter. 97.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.