(Reuters) – Hawaiian Electric Industries’ shares plunged nearly 40% in early trading on Monday amid growing scrutiny over whether the utility company’s equipment played any role in the deadly wildfires that burnt through the coastal Maui town of Lahaina.
Shares of the company hit an over 13-year low just moments after the opening bell.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Hawaiian Electric Industries did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Washington Post report over the weekend raised questions over whether Hawaiian Electric, which owns utility Maui Electric, did not take sufficient safety measures amid warnings days before the fires broke out that wind gusts would trigger dangerous fire conditions.
A class action lawsuit has also been filed against Hawaiian Electric claiming a downed power line on Maui caused the fire, NBC news and other outlets reported.
Reuters was not able to immediately confirm the reports.
The scrutiny caused Wells Fargo and Morningstar to cut their price targets for Hawaiian Electric.
Morningstar strategist Andrew Bischof said he was lowering his fair value estimate for Hawaiian Electric Industries to $23 per share from $34 due to the reports. Wells cut its price target to $25 from $35.
“While it remains unclear if any of HE’s equipment directly caused any of the wildfires, we believe it prudent to account for the risk,” Wells Fargo wrote.
(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Michelle Price and Lisa Shumaker)
