Evercore says Hawaiian Electric down on tentative settlement deal postponement

Evercore ISI notes Hawaiian Electric shares are reversing a meaningful amount of the gains seen last Friday, which the firm attributes to Hawaii Governor Green stating that the $4B global settlement of litigation over the 2023 Maui wildfires that the company is party to remains tentative and is being complicated by lawsuits and the proposed distribution of settlement proceeds. Mediators who helped put the settlement together set a deadline for last Friday, July 19, for defendants to decide whether to finalize the settlement, but postponed that until an unspecified date this week, according to lawyers for homeowners involved in the process. If the settlement is finalized with $1.5B assigned to Hawaiian Electric, the firm continues to see “a viable scenario” for a valuation of $15-$19 per share, but maintains its In Line rating and $11 per share price target for now on Hawaiian Electric.