Scotiabank Trims Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Target Price to $54.00

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Black Hills from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $55.00.

Black Hills Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:BKH opened at $54.54 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $52.86 and its 200 day moving average is $52.20. Black Hills has a 12 month low of $46.43 and a 12 month high of $66.85.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $591.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 posted $1.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Black Hills will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its position in shares of Black Hills by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Black Hills by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 10,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Black Hills by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 8,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Black Hills by 56.3% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Black Hills by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is currently 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.