BUZZ-Hawaiian Electric up after court rules against insurers in Maui wildfire settlement

Shares of utility Hawaiian Electric HE.N rise 3.6% to $10.44 premarket

On Monday, Hawaii supreme court issued a decision providing clarity regarding the rights of insurers filing subrogation claims in the Maui wildfire tort litigation

Last year, HE had agreed to pay roughly half of a $4 billon legal settlement to compensate victims of last year's deadly Maui wildfires

Supreme Court's decision clarifies once the settlement is final, insurers seeking to recover amounts paid to settling plaintiffs cannot separately sue defendants

The decision aligns with HE's positions on key questions that arose from insurers' challenges to the $4 billion settlement agreement, the utility says in a statement

Analysts at Jefferies say the decision improves visibility towards finalizing the $4 billion settlement and is a win for the utility

However, brokerage adds that legislation providing visibility into how future wildfires will be dealt with is needed before the stock can move significantly higher

"The odds of wildfire legislation passing in this session should become clear around April or May" - Jefferies

Brokerage maintains "hold" rating and price target of $10

Up to last close, stock up 3.6% YTD