Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE) Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Hawaiian Electric Industries by 86.4%, from 583,800 shares to 79,491 shares, with the remaining investment valued at $870,000.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively hold 59.91% of Hawaiian Electric Industries' stock, indicating a strong institutional interest in the company.
• Hawaiian Electric Industries reported a decrease in earnings per share from $0.38 to $0.23 year-over-year, with a negative net margin of 42.60% for the recent quarter.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE - Free Report) by 86.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,491 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 504,309 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Hawaiian Electric Industries were worth $870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Hawaiian Electric Industries by 269.7% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 67,720 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 49,400 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Hawaiian Electric Industries by 123.9% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 88,172 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 48,792 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Hawaiian Electric Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $342,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hawaiian Electric Industries by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,925,882 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,208,000 after acquiring an additional 132,740 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Hawaiian Electric Industries by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 257,191 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,816,000 after acquiring an additional 2,877 shares during the period. 59.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries from $11.00 to $11.25 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.94.

Hawaiian Electric Industries Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of HE stock traded down $0.03 on Thursday, hitting $11.03. The stock had a trading volume of 1,491,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,604,049. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.47. The company has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of -0.85 and a beta of 0.64. Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $8.14 and a one year high of $16.13.

Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE:HE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.04). Hawaiian Electric Industries had a negative net margin of 42.60% and a positive return on equity of 12.59%. Research analysts anticipate that Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Hawaiian Electric Industries

Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the electric utility businesses in the United States. It operates in three segments: Electric Utility, Bank, and Other. The Electric Utility segment engages in the production, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, and Molokai.