First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on FHB. Barclays boosted their target price on First Hawaiian from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. TD Cowen raised their price target on First Hawaiian from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on First Hawaiian from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on First Hawaiian from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on First Hawaiian from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.25.

First Hawaiian Price Performance

Shares of FHB opened at $29.29 on Wednesday. First Hawaiian has a 1-year low of $22.65 and a 1-year high of $30.58. The stock has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $28.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.74.

First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $220.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $223.59 million. First Hawaiian had a net margin of 24.44% and a return on equity of 10.39%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Hawaiian will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Hawaiian Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. First Hawaiian’s dividend payout ratio is 45.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Hawaiian

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Hawaiian in the second quarter valued at about $220,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its holdings in First Hawaiian by 0.7% during the second quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 2,660,876 shares of the bank’s stock worth $77,964,000 after purchasing an additional 18,977 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in First Hawaiian by 378.5% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 933 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in First Hawaiian by 14.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,021 shares of the bank’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in First Hawaiian by 56.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 12,972 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 4,670 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.63% of the company’s stock.

First Hawaiian News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting First Hawaiian this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded First Hawaiian (FHB) from hold to strong-buy, which can signal improving analyst confidence in the stock’s outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted FHB on its Strong Buy income and value stock lists, reinforcing the idea that the bank screens well on both yield and valuation measures.
• Positive Sentiment: A Zacks preview article said First Hawaiian has a strong earnings surprise track record and appears positioned to potentially beat estimates again in its upcoming quarterly report.
• Positive Sentiment: FHB was also included in a market roundup of regional bank stocks trading higher, suggesting broader sector strength may be helping sentiment.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are awaiting First Hawaiian’s quarterly earnings release, which could be a near-term catalyst depending on results and guidance. First Hawaiian (FHB) Expected to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Friday
• Negative Sentiment: Monteverde & Associates said it is investigating First Hawaiian’s merger with TriCo Bancshares, which introduces legal and deal-related uncertainty. Shareholder Alert: The M&A Class Action Firm Announces An Investigation of First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ: FHB)

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.