Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Holdings Cut by AdvisorNet Financial Inc

AdvisorNet Financial Inc lowered its position in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,135 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 768 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $1,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Black Hills during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Black Hills in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Black Hills during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 56.3% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Black Hills in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BKH. Mizuho increased their price target on Black Hills from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Black Hills from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.20.

Black Hills Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of BKH traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $57.73. 136,880 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 488,444. Black Hills Co. has a 12-month low of $46.43 and a 12-month high of $59.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.68.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. Black Hills had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 12.96%. The company had revenue of $402.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $498.00 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Black Hills Co. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is 64.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 3,094 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total transaction of $169,674.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $436,307.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Black Hills Profile

Black Hills Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company in the United States. The company operates in two segments: Electric Utilities and Gas Utilities. The Electric Utilities segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 222,000 electric utility customers in Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming; and owns and operates 1,394 megawatts of generation capacity and 9,106 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines.