Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:HA – Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,630,000 shares, an increase of 16.0% from the November 30th total of 3,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 865,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days. Approximately 7.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Hawaiian news, COO Jonathan D. Snook sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.03, for a total transaction of $50,508.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 141,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,986,493.67. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Hawaiian news, COO Jonathan D. Snook sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.03, for a total transaction of $50,508.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 141,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,986,493.67. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William S. Swelbar sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.21, for a total value of $76,050.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $405,894.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,340 shares of company stock worth $235,073. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of Hawaiian
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hawaiian in the 3rd quarter valued at about $196,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hawaiian in the 3rd quarter valued at about $190,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new stake in shares of Hawaiian in the 3rd quarter valued at about $151,000. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hawaiian by 160.2% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 91,637 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 56,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Third Avenue Management LLC increased its position in Hawaiian by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Third Avenue Management LLC now owns 900,988 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,848,000 after acquiring an additional 118,196 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HA shares. StockNews.com raised Hawaiian from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 27th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Hawaiian from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Hawaiian from $17.00 to $13.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Hawaiian in a report on Friday, December 16th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $8.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cowen decreased their target price on Hawaiian to $19.00 in a report on Thursday, October 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.00.
Hawaiian Stock Up 2.0 %
NASDAQ HA traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $10.26. 728,451 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 974,487. The stock has a market cap of $527.47 million, a P/E ratio of -2.01 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.76, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.29. Hawaiian has a 1 year low of $9.64 and a 1 year high of $21.71.
Hawaiian (NASDAQ:HA – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 25th. The transportation company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $741.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $750.81 million. Hawaiian had a negative return on equity of 59.65% and a negative net margin of 10.87%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hawaiian will post -4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.
About Hawaiian
Hawaiian Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiary, Hawaiian Airlines, Inc, engages in the scheduled air transportation of passengers and cargo. The company provides daily services on North America routes between the State of Hawai’i and Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Phoenix, Arizona; and New York City, New York.