Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.10 EPS

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10, FiscalAI reports. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 13.01%. The business had revenue of $466.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $483.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Black Hills Stock Performance

Shares of BKH traded up $1.94 on Wednesday, reaching $84.14. 2,564,333 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,452,908. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.50. Black Hills has a 52-week low of $64.34 and a 52-week high of $85.35.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.7030 per share. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Black Hills from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Freedom Broker raised shares of Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Black Hills from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seven have given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.25.

Black Hills Company Profile

Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) is an energy company headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota. Through its Black Hills Energy businesses, the company provides regulated electric and natural gas utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Black Hills operates electric utilities and natural gas distribution systems across parts of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. Its activities include generating and purchasing electricity, transmitting and distributing power, distributing natural gas, and developing and maintaining the infrastructure needed to serve its utility customers.

The company traces its history to the Black Hills region and has expanded through the development and acquisition of utility operations in the central and western United States.