Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Price Target Cut to $66.00 by Analysts at Scotiabank

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) had its price target lowered by Scotiabank from $67.00 to $66.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Black Hills Stock Down 0.7 %

BKH stock opened at $59.46 on Friday. Black Hills has a 1-year low of $49.50 and a 1-year high of $65.59. The stock has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.17. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.00% and a return on equity of 7.43%. Analysts expect that Black Hills will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.676 dividend. This is an increase from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.55%. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.89%.

Institutional Trading of Black Hills

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Black Hills by 66.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Black Hills by 182.8% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Black Hills by 181.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Black Hills by 373.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 84.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. 86.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.