Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $62.36 and last traded at $62.35, with a volume of 134715 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BKH. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Black Hills from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Black Hills currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.00.

Black Hills Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $60.19 and a 200 day moving average of $57.51. The company has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.69.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.12). Black Hills had a net margin of 12.00% and a return on equity of 7.51%. The company had revenue of $401.60 million for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Black Hills Co. will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Black Hills

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Black Hills by 4.1% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co increased its holdings in Black Hills by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co now owns 43,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management raised its position in Black Hills by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management now owns 4,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 26,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,451,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Black Hills by 84.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

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.