Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE:HE) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE:HE) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

HE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Hawaiian Electric Industries from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hawaiian Electric Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Hawaiian Electric Industries from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Hawaiian Electric Industries from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $13.50 to $12.50 in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hawaiian Electric Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.25.

Hawaiian Electric Industries Stock Performance

Shares of HE stock opened at $15.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $15.50 and a 200 day moving average of $13.30. Hawaiian Electric Industries has a 52 week low of $9.06 and a 52 week high of $17.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE:HE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24. The company had revenue of $805.82 million during the quarter. Hawaiian Electric Industries had a return on equity of 9.82% and a net margin of 4.09%. As a group, research analysts expect that Hawaiian Electric Industries will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hawaiian Electric Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HE. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries by 45.0% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 6,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries by 51.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 379,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,159,000 after acquiring an additional 129,819 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries by 16.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 121,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after acquiring an additional 17,158 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries by 12.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,690 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries by 36.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 491,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,380,000 after acquiring an additional 132,321 shares in the last quarter. 59.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Hawaiian Electric Industries

Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc is a diversified holding company operating in the energy and financial services sectors in the state of Hawaii. Its principal subsidiary, Hawaiian Electric Company, provides generation, transmission, distribution and customer service to the island of Oahu, while its Maui Electric and Hawaii Electric Light Company subsidiaries serve Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Hawaii Island. The roots of the electric utility business trace back to 1891 when service first commenced in Honolulu.

Through its subsidiary Hawaii Gas, HEI extends its energy portfolio to include the distribution of natural gas and propane, supporting residential, commercial and industrial customers across the islands.