• In January 2026, Jefferies downgraded Hawaiian Electric Industries to an underperform rating, citing unresolved wildfire-related liabilities and ongoing regulatory and legislative uncertainty around funding and customer rates in Hawaii.
• This shift in analyst stance highlights how legal exposure and policy decisions can weigh on a regulated utility’s ability to plan grid modernization and decarbonization initiatives.
• We’ll examine how the Jefferies downgrade, centered on wildfire liabilities and regulatory uncertainty, could reshape Hawaiian Electric’s investment narrative.

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What Is Hawaiian Electric Industries' Investment Narrative?

To own Hawaiian Electric Industries today, you have to believe that its core regulated utility and bank can steadily earn through a long period of uncertainty around wildfire liabilities, Maui settlement funding and what Hawaii’s regulators ultimately allow in customer rates. The Jefferies downgrade in January 2026 puts those questions front and center, especially after a sharp rebound in the share price and a return to profitability in 2025. In the near term, key catalysts still include the upcoming Q4 2025 results on February 27, any clarity on litigation and financing structures, and signals from the Public Utilities Commission on cost recovery and grid investments. The downgrade does not change those catalysts, but it does raise the bar on how convincing management’s answers need to be.

However, investors should be aware of how unresolved wildfire liabilities could pressure future earnings and funding flexibility. Hawaiian Electric Industries' shares are on the way up, but could they be overextended? Uncover how much higher they are than fair value.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Six fair value estimates from the Simply Wall St Community span from about US$4.71 to a very large upper figure, showing just how far apart individual views can be. Set against Jefferies’ underperform call and focus on wildfire and regulatory risk, this spread underlines why it is worth comparing several viewpoints before deciding how Hawaiian Electric fits into your portfolio.

Explore 6 other fair value estimates on Hawaiian Electric Industries - why the stock might be a potential multi-bagger!

Build Your Own Hawaiian Electric Industries Narrative

Disagree with this assessment? Create your own narrative in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.

• A great starting point for your Hawaiian Electric Industries research is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free Hawaiian Electric Industries research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Hawaiian Electric Industries' overall financial health at a glance.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.