Financial Counselors Inc. Trims Stake in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Financial Counselors Inc. reduced its stake in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 392 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. owned about 0.08% of Black Hills worth $3,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 66.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Black Hills by 181.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 373.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Black Hills by 83.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Black Hills Price Performance

BKH stock opened at $59.62 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $59.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.68. Black Hills Co. has a 12-month low of $50.73 and a 12-month high of $65.59.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.17. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 12.84%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.676 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.54%. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is 68.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.