First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on FHB. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Hawaiian in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Stephens boosted their target price on First Hawaiian from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on First Hawaiian from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research raised First Hawaiian from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on First Hawaiian from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.12.

First Hawaiian Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of First Hawaiian stock opened at $28.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.73. First Hawaiian has a 52 week low of $22.65 and a 52 week high of $30.58. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.92.

First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $231.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $227.77 million. First Hawaiian had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 24.41%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Hawaiian will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

First Hawaiian Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. First Hawaiian’s payout ratio is 45.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Hawaiian

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of First Hawaiian by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 65,002 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of First Hawaiian by 1.6% during the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 26,105 shares of the bank’s stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in First Hawaiian by 11.3% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in First Hawaiian by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,702 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in First Hawaiian by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 139,962 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,540,000 after buying an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. 97.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Hawaiian Company Profile

First Hawaiian, Inc is the oldest and largest bank in Hawaii, operating as the bank holding company for First Hawaiian Bank. Established in 1858, the company offers a full suite of financial services to individual, business and institutional clients. Its product portfolio includes consumer and commercial lending, deposit accounts, treasury and cash management, foreign exchange and trade finance, as well as wealth management and trust services.

First Hawaiian serves customers through an extensive network of branches, ATMs and digital channels across the Hawaiian Islands, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa.