Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the five analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.60.

BKH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho upped their target price on Black Hills from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Scotiabank reduced their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Black Hills from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th.

Black Hills Price Performance

BKH stock opened at $54.38 on Friday. Black Hills has a 1 year low of $46.43 and a 1 year high of $61.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $54.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.56. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors 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 4.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Black Hills’s payout ratio is currently 64.04%.

Insider Activity at Black Hills

In related news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 3,094 shares of Black Hills stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 7,956 shares in the company, valued at $436,307.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Black Hills in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Black Hills during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Black Hills during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Black Hills by 56.3% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Black Hills during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

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.