Exploring First Hawaiian, Inc. (FHB) Investor Profile: Who’s Buying and Why?

You're looking at First Hawaiian, Inc. (FHB) and wondering if the market's current price of around $23.88 (as of mid-November 2025) is defintely a bargain or a trap. The institutional profile tells a clear story: giants like BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are major stakeholders, holding 13.60% and 11.45% of shares, respectively, as of June 2025. But here's the quick math: while some analysts see a fair value of $27.33-suggesting the stock is 11.3% undervalued-the current Price-to-Earnings ratio of 11.6x is actually a premium to the US Banks industry average of 11.2x. This split creates a real dilemma for you: are the big players banking on the bank's strong capital ratios, like its 9.01% Tier 1 Leverage Ratio in Q1 2025, or are they overpaying for stability in a regional banking environment where Net Interest Margin (NIM) hit 3.19% in Q3 2025? You need to know which narrative is driving the action.

Who Invests in First Hawaiian, Inc. (FHB) and Why?

You're looking at First Hawaiian, Inc. (FHB) and need to know who is driving the stock and for what reason. The direct takeaway is that FHB is overwhelmingly an institutional holding, prized for its stable, high-yield dividend and its fortress-like balance sheet in a unique, non-cyclical market.

As of late 2025, the investor base is dominated by large money managers, not individual traders. This is a stock for stability and income. If you want to understand the foundation of FHB's market value, you need to look at the big players who treat it like a long-term bond with a kicker.

Key Investor Types: The Institutional Anchor

The investor profile for First Hawaiian, Inc. is clear: it's an institutional stock. As of the most recent available breakdown, institutional investors hold a commanding position, accounting for approximately 82.4% of the company's shares, with retail investors holding the remaining 17.6%.

This heavy institutional presence-with over 616 institutional owners-means the stock price is less susceptible to the day-to-day volatility of retail trading and more governed by long-term capital allocation decisions. The top holders are the world's largest asset managers, who are essentially buying a piece of the Hawaiian economy's financial infrastructure.

• BlackRock, Inc.: Holds over 16.4 million shares as of Q3 2025.
• The Vanguard Group, Inc.: Holds over 14.0 million shares as of Q3 2025.
• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management, LLC: Holds over 13.7 million shares as of Q3 2025.

These are not short-term bets; they are permanent capital allocations. First Hawaiian, Inc. (FHB): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money shows you why this regional dominance matters so much to these funds.

Investment Motivations: Yield, Safety, and Market Position

Investors are attracted to FHB primarily for three reasons: a strong dividend, a protected market position, and a robust balance sheet that acts as a margin of safety.

The most immediate draw is the dividend. FHB's annual dividend is a steady $1.04 per share, translating to a dividend yield around 4.32% to 4.45% in November 2025. This is a compelling yield, especially when the dividend is well-covered by earnings, with a sustainable payout ratio of about 50.73%.

Here's the quick math: a $0.26 quarterly cash dividend per share is a reliable income stream.

Plus, the financials show a bank that is defintely built for resilience:

• Capital Strength: The Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio hit 13.03% in Q2 2025, significantly exceeding regulatory minimums.
• Profitability: Net Income for Q2 2025 surged to $73.2 million, a 23% quarter-over-quarter increase.
• Efficiency: The Net Interest Margin (NIM) expanded to 3.11% in Q2 2025, signaling effective asset management.

This combination of high, stable income and strong capital ratios appeals directly to pension funds and index trackers who prioritize capital preservation and consistent cash flow.

Investment Strategies: The Value and Income Play

The typical strategy for FHB investors is a classic value and long-term holding approach. The average institutional holding period is around 3.7 years, which is not the mark of a short-term trading vehicle. Investors are buying the bank's unique position as the oldest and largest Hawaii-based bank, essentially a regional monopoly on a highly desirable, geographically isolated market.

The value proposition is still attractive. While the stock trades at a slight premium to some peers, analysts in November 2025 estimated the fair value at approximately $26.89, compared to a recent close around $24.76. This suggests a potential upside of about 7.9%, which is a clear signal for value investors who look for quality businesses trading below intrinsic value.

What this estimate hides is the value of FHB's sticky deposit base-total assets were $23.84 billion in Q2 2025-which provides a low-cost funding advantage that is hard to replicate. The strategy is simple: buy a well-capitalized, market-leading bank with a high dividend, and hold it for the long run.

Next step: Finance needs to model the impact of a 50-basis-point rise in the cost of deposits on that 3.11% NIM by the end of the quarter.

Institutional Ownership and Major Shareholders of First Hawaiian, Inc. (FHB)

If you're looking at First Hawaiian, Inc. (FHB), the immediate takeaway is that this is an institutionally-driven stock. Large financial entities own a staggering amount of the float, meaning their trading decisions dictate price action more than retail investors do. As of the most recent filings, institutional investors own approximately 97.63% of the company's stock, which is a massive concentration of capital.

This high institutional ownership signals a strong belief in the company's stability as Hawaii's oldest and largest financial institution, but it also means you need to track the movements of a few giants. When a few large funds decide to rebalance, the stock price defintely moves. The bank's market capitalization stood at about $3.11 billion as of March 2025, underscoring its substantial regional presence.

Top Institutional Investors and Their Stakes

The investor profile for First Hawaiian, Inc. (FHB) is dominated by the usual suspects in the passive and active fund management world. These top-tier firms hold tens of millions of shares, giving them significant influence over the stock's liquidity and long-term direction. Here's a quick math look at the top five holders based on their Q3 2025 filings:

BlackRock, Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc., through their various index and mutual funds, consistently anchor the top of this list. Their sheer size means they are essentially long-term, passive holders, but their collective trading volume is still a factor you can't ignore.

Recent Changes in Institutional Ownership

Looking at the Q3 2025 activity, the trend is mixed, which is typical for a regional bank in a dynamic interest rate environment. You see some large passive funds trimming positions while others, and some active managers, are adding shares. For instance, BlackRock, Inc. reduced its position by 398,826 shares in the quarter ending September 30, 2025, and Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake by 71,240 shares.

But other institutions saw an opportunity. State Street Corp. actually increased its position by 453,025 shares, and Dimensional Fund Advisors LP added 97,803 shares. This tells me that while the largest passive holders might be slightly rebalancing their indices, active managers are picking their spots based on FHB's fundamentals. You can find more detail on those fundamentals in Breaking Down First Hawaiian, Inc. (FHB) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

• BlackRock and Vanguard slightly reduced holdings.
• State Street and Dimensional Fund Advisors increased their stakes.
• Overall, 126 institutional investors added shares in Q2 2025, but 138 decreased their positions, showing churn.

Impact on Stock Price and Strategy

Institutional investors play a crucial role in First Hawaiian, Inc.'s stock performance and its strategic direction. When nearly all the shares are held by these funds, their collective sentiment drives the valuation. Their focus is often on the company's ability to maintain its dividend and manage its balance sheet effectively. For Q3 2025, the company reported a net income of $73.8 million and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, which translates to a solid 4.2% dividend yield as of early November 2025.

This consistent dividend is a major draw for institutional money, especially for income-focused funds. Plus, the narrative that FHB is undervalued-with a suggested fair value of $26.89 against a recent price of $24.76-is likely what's driving the accumulation from value-oriented funds. Their long-term holding period, which averages around 3.7 years, suggests they are betting on the bank's stability and its ability to benefit from net interest margin expansion as rates stabilize.

Your action here is simple: watch the 13F filings closely. If you see a sustained, material decrease in the top five holders' positions, it signals a major shift in institutional confidence, which is a clear sell signal.

Key Investors and Their Impact on First Hawaiian, Inc. (FHB)

You need to know who is driving the bus at First Hawaiian, Inc. (FHB), and honestly, it's the big asset managers. The direct takeaway here is that institutional investors-the massive funds like BlackRock and Vanguard-own the vast majority of the company, and their investment thesis is centered on the bank's stability, its strong dividend, and its unique regional dominance in Hawaii.

As of mid-2025, institutional investors collectively hold a significant stake, accounting for about 82.4% of First Hawaiian, Inc.'s total shares outstanding. This high concentration means company strategy and stock performance are defintely influenced by the collective actions of these large, sophisticated players. When they move, the stock moves. For a deeper dive on the bank's underlying financial health, you should check out Breaking Down First Hawaiian, Inc. (FHB) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

The Big Three: Passive Giants and Their Holdings

The top investors are mostly passive funds, meaning they buy and hold the stock to mirror an index like the Russell 2000 or the S&P 500. They aren't looking for a quick flip; they are looking for a reliable, long-term anchor in the regional banking sector. This stability is a huge plus for the stock.

BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc. lead the pack. These firms hold massive positions because First Hawaiian, Inc. is a component of the major stock indices that their exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds track. Their influence isn't through activism, but through sheer size-they are the ultimate long-term shareholders, demanding consistent governance and capital returns.

• BlackRock, Inc.: Held 16,831,233 shares, representing 13.60% ownership as of June 29, 2025.
• The Vanguard Group, Inc.: Held 14,170,183 shares, or 11.45% of shares outstanding.
• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management, LLC: A key active manager, holding 13,931,024 shares, or 11.26% ownership.

Here's the quick math: BlackRock and Vanguard alone control over a quarter of the company. That's a lot of voting power.

Investor Influence: Dividends and Buybacks

The primary way these investors influence the company is by demanding disciplined capital allocation-making sure the bank isn't wasting cash. For First Hawaiian, Inc., this translates directly into a strong focus on the dividend and share repurchase programs (buybacks).

The bank's consistent dividend is a major draw for income-focused institutional funds. As of March 2025, the dividend yield was a solid 4.20%. Management affirmed a quarterly cash dividend of $0.26 per share for Q3 2025, which is exactly what these investors expect: a steady, predictable income stream.

Also, the company's recent share repurchase activity is a clear signal to the market. In the third quarter of 2025 alone, First Hawaiian, Inc. repurchased about 965,000 shares at a total cost of $24 million. This move directly boosts earnings per share (EPS) for the remaining shareholders, which is a key metric for institutional performance. The message is simple: management believes the stock is undervalued and is willing to put capital to work for shareholders.

Recent Moves and Market Reaction in Q3 2025

The market's reaction to the latest financial performance shows how investor sentiment drives short-term stock movement. When First Hawaiian, Inc. reported its Q3 2025 earnings, the results significantly beat analyst forecasts, which immediately translated into a stock price jump. Earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.59, a notable beat on the forecasted $0.52. Revenue also surprised positively at $226.39 million.

This strong performance led to a pre-market stock price increase of 2.15%. That's a clear example of how positive financial metrics-the kind that underpin the long-term value thesis for the big funds-cause an immediate, positive stock movement. It reinforces the core investment narrative: this is a resilient bank with stable earnings, even in a challenging economic environment.

The lack of public activist campaigns suggests that, for now, the major shareholders are content with the bank's strategy of disciplined growth, capital returns, and leveraging its dominant position in the Hawaiian market. They are buying the stability. Your next step should be to look at how these stable earnings translate into future cash flow projections.

Market Impact and Investor Sentiment

You want to know who is buying First Hawaiian, Inc. (FHB) and why, and the answer is a mix of long-term institutional conviction and short-term valuation plays. Investor sentiment for First Hawaiian, Inc. is currently a study in cautious optimism, leaning positive due to strong operational execution in 2025, but still tempered by broader banking sector risks.

The prevailing narrative suggests the stock is undervalued, with a widely followed fair value estimate sitting between $26.89 and $27.33 as of November 2025, noticeably above the recent trading price of around $24.25. That's a potential upside of over 10%. The confidence stems from the bank's robust, local deposit franchise and its ability to manage costs effectively. Still, the market remains cautious because a one-year total shareholder return is down by about 7.17%, even as the five-year return shows a cumulative gain of 46.2%.

Here's the quick math: the bank's core strengths are what the smart money is betting on, despite the recent stock volatility. For a deeper dive into the bank's foundation, you should read Breaking Down First Hawaiian, Inc. (FHB) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Who Holds the Keys: Major Shareholders and Their Stance

The shareholder structure of First Hawaiian, Inc. is dominated by institutional players, which account for roughly 76.3% of the ownership. This is a common setup for a regional bank, but the key is which institutions hold the largest positions. These major holders are essentially expressing a long-term, passive-to-neutral conviction in the bank's stability and dividend yield.

The largest single shareholder is Paribas Bnp, which holds a massive 93.12% of the company's shares. This is a legacy position from the bank's former parent company and is categorized as an insider holding, which means the free float and active trading are centered on the remaining shares. The most influential institutional investors, those who actively trade and influence sentiment, are the behemoths of asset management.

The top institutional investors, as of the most recent filings in 2025, demonstrate a clear preference for the stock, though their recent activity shows some minor net selling in Q3 2025. This isn't a panic sale; it's portfolio rebalancing.

• BlackRock, Inc.: Holds about 16.43 million shares, representing roughly 13.28% of the company.
• The Vanguard Group, Inc.: Holds about 14.10 million shares, representing roughly 11.40% of the company.
• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management, LLC: Holds about 13.70 million shares, representing roughly 11.07% of the company.

Market Response to Investor Moves

The stock market has been reacting positively to First Hawaiian, Inc.'s operational performance and capital management in the second half of 2025. The stock price climbed a notable 4.7% over the 90 days leading up to early November 2025. This momentum is directly tied to the solid Q3 2025 earnings report, which showed net interest income of $169.3 million and net income of $73.84 million, both moving higher year-over-year.

The bank's continued share buyback program is a clear signal to the market that management believes the stock is defintely undervalued. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, the company repurchased 974 thousand shares at a total cost of $25.0 million, with $75 million remaining under the 2025 repurchase authorization. This action creates a floor under the stock and enhances per-share metrics, which investors always appreciate.

Also, a strategic investment portfolio restructuring completed in late 2024 is projected to increase 2025 net interest income by approximately $8.6 million. That's a clear, tangible benefit that supports the recent positive stock movement, showing management is actively working to improve future earnings.

Analyst Perspectives: The Hold vs. Sell Debate

When you look at Wall Street, the consensus on First Hawaiian, Inc. is a 'Hold' or 'Reduce' rating from a pool of 8 to 11 analysts as of November 2025. This disconnect between a positive valuation narrative and a cautious rating is crucial for you to understand; it maps the risks to the opportunities.

The average 12-month price target from these analysts is between $27.14 and $27.75. This target range implies a forecasted upside of about 11.92% to 15.64% from the current price, which aligns with the 'undervalued' sentiment. The analysts' caution, however, stems from a few key risks:

The bear case, which drives the 'Sell' ratings, is focused on the bank's adjusted 2025 loan growth forecast, which was lowered to approximately 3%. Plus, there's the ongoing pressure on margins (Net Interest Margin, or NIM) from rising competition for deposits, even though the bank's Q3 2025 NIM did expand by 8 basis points to 3.19%. The Hold rating is essentially a wait-and-see approach: the bank is executing well, but the regional banking environment still introduces systemic risk. The key action for you is to watch for any further revisions to that loan growth forecast.