Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Price Target Cut to $54.00 by Analysts at Scotiabank

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) had its price target lowered by Scotiabank from $58.00 to $54.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

BKH has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Black Hills from $61.00 to $57.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Black Hills from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $55.00.

Black Hills Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE BKH opened at $54.32 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.14. The stock has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 0.64. Black Hills has a 12-month low of $46.43 and a 12-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.

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

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.79%. This is an increase from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. Black Hills’s payout ratio is 66.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Black Hills

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 87.3% in the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Black Hills during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Black Hills in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Black Hills by 678.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Black Hills in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. 86.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.