Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Receives $55.60 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $55.60.

Several analysts have weighed in on BKH shares. Scotiabank cut 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 shares of Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Black Hills from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Black Hills from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th.

Insider Transactions at Black Hills

In related news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 3,094 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total transaction of $169,674.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $436,307.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Black Hills

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Black Hills in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Black Hills in the first quarter worth $31,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Black Hills during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in 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 buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Black Hills in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. 86.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Black Hills Price Performance

Shares of BKH opened at $54.16 on Friday. Black Hills has a 12 month low of $46.43 and a 12 month high of $61.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $54.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.56. The company has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 0.69.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $726.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $683.00 million. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 8.37%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 21.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.73 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Black Hills will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Black Hills’s payout ratio is 64.04%.

About Black Hills

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.