Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) was the recipient 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 trading volume, of 437,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.0 days.

Insider Transactions at Black Hills

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Black Hills

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in Black Hills during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,564,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Black Hills by 3.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,821,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,679,000 after buying an additional 279,987 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 227.3% during the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 31,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,695,000 after acquiring an additional 21,825 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 246.0% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 40,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,185,000 after acquiring an additional 28,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Black Hills by 2,366.5% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 111,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,004,000 after acquiring an additional 106,777 shares during the period. 86.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Black Hills from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Black Hills from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.60.

Black Hills Stock Performance

Shares of BKH stock remained flat at $54.27 during trading hours on Wednesday. 212,600 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 504,104. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Black Hills has a 52-week low of $46.43 and a 52-week high of $61.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.52.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.17. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 8.37%. The company had revenue of $726.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $683.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 21.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Black Hills will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

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

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.