Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Given New $54.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) had its target price cut by Scotiabank from $58.00 to $54.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Black Hills from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $61.00 to $57.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $55.00.

Black Hills Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:BKH opened at $54.54 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 0.64. Black Hills has a twelve month low of $46.43 and a twelve month high of $66.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company’s 50 day moving average is $52.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.20.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $591.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.67 million. Black Hills had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 8.09%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Black Hills will post 3.9 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.33%.

Institutional Trading of Black Hills

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Black Hills by 3.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,821,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $395,679,000 after acquiring an additional 279,987 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Black Hills during the third quarter worth about $1,752,000. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Black Hills by 246.0% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 40,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,185,000 after buying an additional 28,797 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Black Hills by 57.0% in the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 159,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,053,000 after acquiring an additional 57,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $929,000 after acquiring an additional 4,345 shares during the period. 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.