Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Receives $56.20 Average PT from Analysts

Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) has been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.20.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Black Hills from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Black Hills from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Black Hills from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 3,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total transaction of $169,674.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $436,307.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Black Hills

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Black Hills during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Black Hills during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Black Hills in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake 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 buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Black Hills during the first quarter worth about $38,000. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Black Hills Trading Up 0.3 %

Black Hills stock opened at $57.80 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 0.68. Black Hills has a 52 week low of $46.43 and a 52 week high of $59.82.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $402.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $498.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Black Hills will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

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

Black Hills Company 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.