Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $74.99 and last traded at $74.4130, with a volume of 26412 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on BKH shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Black Hills from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Black Hills from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $66.00 to $81.00 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Black Hills has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.67.

Black Hills Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $71.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 7.86%. The company had revenue of $430.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $439.96 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.703 per share. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Black Hills

In other news, CFO Kimberly F. Nooney sold 14,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $1,025,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,447,704.70. This represents a 29.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Black Hills

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 2,100.0% in the third quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,100,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050,020 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Black Hills by 10,853.0% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 664,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,901,000 after purchasing an additional 658,017 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Black Hills by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,374,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,628,000 after purchasing an additional 474,947 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Black Hills by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,045,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,634,000 after purchasing an additional 388,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in Black Hills by 220.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 525,653 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,375,000 after purchasing an additional 361,751 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

About Black Hills

Black Hills Corporation is a diversified energy company based in Rapid City, South Dakota, that provides electricity and natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries—Black Hills Power, Cheyenne Light & Power, and Black Hills Energy—the company delivers reliable energy across Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.

In addition to its distribution operations, Black Hills owns and operates a generation portfolio that includes natural gas–fired plants, coal-fired units, hydroelectric facilities and wind projects.