Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Short Interest Update

Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,620,000 shares, a decline of 8.1% from the May 31st total of 2,850,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 437,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.0 days.

Black Hills Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Black Hills stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $54.31. 212,620 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 504,104. Black Hills has a 1 year low of $46.43 and a 1 year high of $61.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $54.87 and its 200 day moving average is $53.52. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.79%. Black Hills’s payout ratio is currently 64.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho upped their price objective on Black Hills from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Black Hills from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com raised Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Black Hills currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.60.

Insider Transactions at Black Hills

In other news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 3,094 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total transaction of $169,674.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $436,307.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Black Hills

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Black Hills during the first quarter worth $31,000. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Black Hills during the first quarter worth $388,000. Burney Co. acquired a new position in shares of Black Hills during the first quarter worth $4,076,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Black Hills in the first quarter valued at $751,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Black Hills by 99.3% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 127,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,980,000 after acquiring an additional 63,687 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.71% 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.