Hawaiian Electric falls after disclosing $250 mln stock offering plan

Hawaiian Electric Industries

19/09/2024 13:38

Sept 19 (Reuters) - Shares of Hawaiian Electric  HE.N 
fell 3.3% premarket on Thursday after the parent company of
Hawaii's largest utility said it plans to sell up to $250
million worth of shares to partly fund its portion of the Maui
wildfire settlement.
        The Honolulu-based company will conduct an
"at-the-market offering," selling shares at prevailing market
prices rather than a predetermined rate, according to a
regulatory filing.
  
    In August, Hawaiian Electric raised going-concern doubts
after disclosing it lacked a financing plan for its share of a
more than $4 billion settlement to compensate victims of the
2023 Maui wildfires, which claimed over 100 lives.
        The company's shares have fallen about 15% this year,
compared with S&P 500 Utilities  .SPLRCU  sector's 21.4% gain.  
   
  
    Lawsuits have claimed that the utility failed to shut off
power lines despite warnings that high winds might blow them
down and spark wildfires.
    Wells Fargo, Guggenheim Securities and Barclays Capital will
handle the sale. Proceeds may also fund investments in Hawaiian
Electric's units and future acquisitions.
        Hawaiian Electric had about 110.3 million outstanding
shares as of Aug. 30, according to the filing. 
  
    Its price-to-earnings ratio for the next 12 months, a key
industry metric to gauge company valuations, is 6.15, compared
to industry median of 16.08, according to LSEG data. 
    

 (Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru: Editing by Tasim
Zahid)
 ((Sourasis.Bose@thomsonreuters.com;))