Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.68

Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 22nd, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of 0.676 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th.

Black Hills has a dividend payout ratio of 62.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Black Hills to earn $4.36 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.70 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 61.9%.

Black Hills Stock Performance

Black Hills stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $56.72. 528,862 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 601,910. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.70. Black Hills has a fifty-two week low of $54.92 and a fifty-two week high of $65.59.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.92 by ($0.05). Black Hills had a net margin of 12.67% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The firm had revenue of $805.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $729.73 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. Black Hills's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Black Hills will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Black Hills in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Black Hills

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BKH. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 37.8% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,040 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Black Hills by 83.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,345 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Black Hills during the 1st quarter valued at about $255,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Black Hills by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 42,798 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 134,673 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,168,000 after purchasing an additional 7,332 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.