Brokerages Set Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Target Price at $55.80

Shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.80.

BKH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $61.00 to $57.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th.

Black Hills Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Black Hills stock opened at $52.00 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Black Hills has a 52-week low of $46.43 and a 52-week high of $66.85. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.56 and a 200 day moving average of $51.99.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $591.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $863.67 million. Black Hills had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 8.09%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Black Hills will post 3.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is an increase from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Black Hills

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Black Hills in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Black Hills in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Black Hills during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 87.3% during the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Black Hills in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. 86.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.