Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $74.99 and last traded at $74.4130, with a volume of 26412 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank raised Black Hills from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $66.00 to $81.00 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Black Hills from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Black Hills currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.67.

Black Hills Stock Down 0.1%

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $71.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.75.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The firm had revenue of $430.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $439.96 million. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.86% and a net margin of 12.54%.The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.703 dividend. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Kimberly F. Nooney sold 14,500 shares of Black Hills stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $1,025,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,621 shares in the company, valued at $2,447,704.70. This trade represents a 29.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Black Hills

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BKH. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 4,115.4% in the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new position in Black Hills in the second quarter worth $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Black Hills by 132.3% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Black Hills during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Black Hills Company Profile

Black Hills Corporation is a diversified energy company based in Rapid City, South Dakota, that provides electricity and natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries—Black Hills Power, Cheyenne Light & Power, and Black Hills Energy—the company delivers reliable energy across Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.

In addition to its distribution operations, Black Hills owns and operates a generation portfolio that includes natural gas–fired plants, coal-fired units, hydroelectric facilities and wind projects.