Hawaiian Electric Shares Hit 52-Week Low As Investors Fear Looming Bankruptcy

The stock of Hawaiian Electric, the power company blamed for sparking wildfires that killed at least 111, hit a 52-week low Thursday as the company reportedly meets with bankruptcy specialists.

Shares of Hawaiian Electric plummeted more than 15% to around $12 a share by Thursday's market close. Shares had been plunging since the fire erupted on Aug. 8 and are now down by more than 71% so far this year.

On Tuesday, S&P Global downgraded Hawaiian Electric's debt to junk bond status and has placed it on negative credit watch for potentially further downgrades.

Investors are worried the company will follow that path of California's PG&E, which filed for bankruptcy after sparking costly wildfires across that state in 2017 and 2018. Earlier today, The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported that Hawaiian Electric is in talks with firms that specialize in restructuring advisory.

Its stock was already dropping following a barrage of lawsuits pinning responsibility for the fire on the utility as well as an investigation from the state's attorney general. Reports suggest the company knew it needed more preventative measures but did little to take them.

The fire's death toll now totals 111, making it the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history, and is expected to rise with more than 1,000 people still unaccounted for.

“No one has ever seen this that is alive today – not this size, not this number, not this volume,” Maui Police Chief John Pelletier told CNN. “And we’re not done.”