Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Short Interest Up 5.2% in January

Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) saw a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,820,000 shares, an increase of 5.2% from the January 15th total of 1,730,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 496,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Scotiabank cut their price target on Black Hills from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Black Hills Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BKH traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $59.71. The company had a trading volume of 395,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 461,986. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $58.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.73. The stock has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.23, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.73. Black Hills has a 1-year low of $50.72 and a 1-year high of $65.59.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.17. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 12.84%. Research analysts forecast that Black Hills will post 4.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.676 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. This is an increase from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Black Hills’s payout ratio is currently 66.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Black Hills

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BKH. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Black Hills by 66.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Black Hills by 182.8% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Black Hills by 181.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Black Hills by 373.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Black Hills by 84.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.