BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Stock

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) had its target price increased by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $70.00 to $82.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 13.58% from the company’s current price.

BKH has been the topic of a number of other reports. Scotiabank upgraded Black Hills from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Black Hills has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.67.

Black Hills Stock Performance

Shares of BKH opened at $72.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.75. Black Hills has a 52 week low of $54.92 and a 52 week high of $74.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $71.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.86% and a net margin of 12.54%.The company had revenue of $430.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $439.96 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. Black Hills’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Black Hills will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Black Hills

In related news, CFO Kimberly F. Nooney sold 14,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $1,025,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,447,704.70. This trade represents a 29.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Black Hills

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BKH. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Black Hills by 88.6% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 8,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 3,762 shares during the last quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Black Hills in the 4th quarter worth about $208,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Black Hills by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 47,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,273,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,952 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after buying an additional 996 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.