First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ:FHB) Short Interest Update

First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ:FHB) was the recipient 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. Based on an average daily volume of 677,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.6 days. Currently, 3.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Hawaiian

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of First Hawaiian by 9.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 10,502,160 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $218,025,000 after purchasing an additional 942,634 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in First Hawaiian by 958.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 439,423 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,043,000 after acquiring an additional 397,897 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of First Hawaiian by 7.7% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in First Hawaiian by 96.8% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 478,262 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,072,000 after purchasing an additional 235,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in First Hawaiian in the third quarter valued at about $3,736,000. 97.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Hawaiian Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of First Hawaiian stock traded up $0.20 on Friday, hitting $26.09. 445,437 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 666,364. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.72. 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 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. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. First Hawaiian’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens started coverage on shares of First Hawaiian in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of First Hawaiian from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on First Hawaiian from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Hawaiian currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.