Analysts unanimously recommend “Reduce” Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH – Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a “Sell” rating and four have given a “Hold” rating for the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts who have provided ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.20.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Black Hills from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Black Hills from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Black Hills from $58.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd.

Check out our latest stock analysis on Black Hills

Insider buying and selling

In other Black Hills news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 3,094 shares of the company’s stock on Thursday, May 30. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total transaction of $169,674.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $436,307.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.61% of the shares are currently owned by insiders.

Institutional inflows and outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Black Hills by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,251,722 shares of the utility company’s stock worth $175,430,000 after acquiring an additional 475,768 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Black Hills by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,143,567 shares of the utility company’s stock worth $439,345,000 after acquiring an additional 322,271 shares during the same period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Black Hills by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 755,095 shares of the utility company’s stock valued at $40,737,000 after buying an additional 203,340 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Black Hills by 54.5% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 481,415 shares of the utility company’s stock valued at $26,179,000 after buying an additional 169,827 shares during the same period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Black Hills by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 483,120 shares of the utility company’s stock valued at $26,378,000 after buying an additional 137,356 shares in the last quarter. 86.71% of the shares are owned by institutional investors.

Black Hills trading down 0.3%

NYSE BKH opened at $57.14 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, and a beta of 0.68. Black Hills has a 52-week low of $46.43 and a 52-week high of $59.82. The stock’s 50-day average price is $55.60 and its 200-day average price is $54.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.61, and a current ratio of 0.73.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31. The utility provider reported earnings per share of $0.33 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.04. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The company had revenue of $402.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst expectations of $498.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted earnings per share of $0.35. The company’s revenue declined 2.1% year-over-year. As a group, analysts expect Black Hills to post earnings per share of $3.92 for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will receive a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents an annualized dividend of $2.60 and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Black Hills’ dividend payout ratio is currently 64.04%.

Black Hills Company Profile

(Get free report

Black Hills Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility 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 customers in Colorado, Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming. The company also owns and operates 1,394 megawatts of generating capacity and 9,106 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines.