Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Price Target Raised to $63.00

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) had its price objective lifted by Scotiabank from $54.00 to $63.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Black Hills from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho upped their price target on Black Hills from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Black Hills from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $58.00.

Black Hills Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BKH opened at $58.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.21 and a 200 day moving average of $54.55. The company has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 0.68. Black Hills has a 12-month low of $46.43 and a 12-month high of $59.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

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. The business had revenue of $402.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $498.00 million. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The company’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Black Hills 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.46%. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.04%.

Insider Transactions at Black Hills

In related news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 3,094 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $436,307.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Black Hills

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Black Hills during the first quarter worth $31,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Black Hills in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Black Hills in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Black Hills by 56.3% during 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Black Hills in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.