Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.65

Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, July 22nd, NASDAQ reports. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of 0.65 per share by the utilities provider on Sunday, September 1st. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th.

Black Hills has raised its dividend payment by an average of 4.8% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 54 consecutive years. Black Hills has a payout ratio of 63.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Black Hills to earn $4.15 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 62.7%.

Black Hills Trading Down 0.2 %

BKH stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.98. 292,139 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 494,655. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 0.69. Black Hills has a 1 year low of $46.43 and a 1 year high of $61.81. The company has a 50-day moving average of $54.97 and a 200-day moving average of $53.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $726.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $683.00 million. Black Hills had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 12.92%. Black Hills’s quarterly revenue was down 21.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.73 EPS. Analysts predict that Black Hills will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on Black Hills from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Black Hills from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Black Hills from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.60.

Insider Transactions at Black Hills

In other news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 3,094 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total value of $169,674.96. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

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.