BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Stock Price

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) had its price objective hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $70.00 to $82.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on BKH. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank raised shares of Black Hills from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.67.

Black Hills Price Performance

BKH stock opened at $73.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $70.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.70. The company has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Black Hills has a 12-month low of $54.92 and a 12-month high of $74.23.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 7.86% and a net margin of 12.54%.The business had revenue of $430.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $439.96 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Black Hills will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $0.703 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Black Hills’s payout ratio is 70.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kimberly F. Nooney sold 14,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,621 shares in the company, valued at $2,447,704.70. This represents a 29.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Black Hills

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BKH. Zimmer Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 2,100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,100,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050,020 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Black Hills by 10,853.0% in the 3rd 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 during the period. 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. boosted its position in Black Hills by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,045,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,634,000 after acquiring an additional 388,936 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 220.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 525,653 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,375,000 after purchasing an additional 361,751 shares during the period. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Black Hills Company Profile

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.