First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ:FHB)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $26.79, but opened at $27.81. First Hawaiian shares last traded at $27.58, with a volume of 37,235 shares.

The bank reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. First Hawaiian had a net margin of 18.83% and a return on equity of 8.83%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on FHB. Stephens began coverage on shares of First Hawaiian in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on First Hawaiian from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First Hawaiian from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on First Hawaiian from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of First Hawaiian from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Hawaiian presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Hawaiian

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Hawaiian by 958.2% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 439,423 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,043,000 after buying an additional 397,897 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in First Hawaiian by 96.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 478,262 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,072,000 after acquiring an additional 235,253 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in First Hawaiian in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,736,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in First Hawaiian by 20.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 913,400 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,145,000 after purchasing an additional 154,136 shares during the period. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its position in shares of First Hawaiian by 6.1% during the third quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 2,461,319 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,980,000 after purchasing an additional 141,327 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.63% of the company’s stock.

First Hawaiian Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.00.

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.